


Captain Fat Ass

by Starb_uck



Series: Redemption [1]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Anal Sex, Corporal Punishment, Dubious Consent, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, Humiliation, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-26 16:19:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6246967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starb_uck/pseuds/Starb_uck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starbuck's lack of respect for authority finally lands her in a very difficult position when she goes up against Admiral Cain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Pay the Piper](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1071336) by [lanalucy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanalucy/pseuds/lanalucy). 



> This piece was completely inspired by lanalucy's wonderful work "Pay the Piper", and borrows shamelessly from some of the ideas presented therein. Kara's motivations stem from a different source here, though. I can't lie, I simply adore tormenting Starbuck and it forms a common theme in most of my BSG fic. There's lots more to come on this one.

"Sir, with all due respect I just don't.." 

Cain had finally had enough. "Alright, Captain Thrace, that will be all. You're off this mission as of now. Report to your quarters and stay there until such time as you are summoned. Dismissed". 

Starbuck stood aghast. "But Sir!! You can't.." Cain cut her off once again. 

"That *will be all, Captain. Don't ever, ever, make the mistake of questioning me, especially not at a briefing. If it happens again, you will find yourself in the brig before you can even begin to pipe up with your whinging, and your bleating, and your but Sir!!s. And if that happens, you will remain there until such time as I decide you're not a danger to this ship and its crew." 

Starbuck stood gobsmacked. Every word seemed to slice into her like a knife. Like a.. razor. Everyone present was completely silent, nobody daring to look at anybody else. 

A beat passed. Then, "I believe you've been dismissed, Captain". 

Somehow, through her shock, Starbuck found the ability to move. She turned, headed for the door, still disbelieving. She'd almost reached it when she heard a cough behind her. 

"Ah, Captain?" She stopped, but did not turn. "I don't believe I've had your salute?" 

Gods, this frakking woman was a real piece of work.. Gritting her teeth, Starbuck turned, came to attention, and cut the sharpest salute she could manage. Cain didn't even appear to notice, bent to murmur into Shaw's ear. She bet that little cow was loving seeing her humiliated like this. Cain made a brief tour of the table, checking everyone's work. Starbuck stood at attention, burning with humiliation. Her arm was beginning to ache. She saw Lee trying to catch her eye surreptitiously. She wouldn't let him. He knew her too well, he'd know exactly how she was feeling right now. 

After a considerable amount of time, Cain turned in her general direction. Without looking at her she touched the barest, faintest ghost of a sloppy salute at Starbuck. 

"Alright, Captain, now you're dismissed. Now get out". Face burning, Starbuck did. 

***

Lying in her rack, Starbuck burned with shame and rage. It seemed to grow stronger as the hours passed, rather than diminishing. How dare she treat her like that! Who the frak did she think she was? Starbuck ground her teeth. She didn't have any problem whatsoever with going up against authority, but Admiral Cain was a different proposition altogether. She seemed like she could take any insubordination Kara could throw at her, and then turn it against her. Kara had always managed to get away with most of her actions in the past, and lying back against her pillow, she pondered now if perhaps that was because Adama, and Lee, had always had her back. They liked her, were on her side. She was beginning to appreciate what a different proposition insubordination would be if it was aimed at a woman who didn't like her at all, who had no qualms about trying to break her down. And the Admiral was reputedly a very dangerous enemy... 

Kara swallowed, forcing herself to calm down. Her hotheadedness had led her into trouble numerous times before, but she'd always managed to wriggle her way out and come up smelling of roses. This time, though, she was beginning to wonder if she hadn't made a very big mistake. She vowed to try and do better, to swallow her pride and be more like the disciplined officer Cain so clearly wanted her to be. Yes. That was it. She smiled, punched her pillow into a more comfortable shape and lay flat. It was too late for Cain to send for her tonight, but she'd demonstrate her new resolution to her in the morning. From now on, Kara was determined to turn over a new leaf. 

She had no idea that it was already too late.

 

***

A tannoy message woke her not long after she'd drifted off. Groaning, she pulled the pillow over her head and tried to drown it out but it was insistent. Wait... That was her name.. What the frak? She pulled the pillow away and listened. 

#Captain Thrace to the Admiral's quarters. Repeat, Captain Thrace, please report to Admiral Cain's quarters immediately. Captain Thrace..# 

Starbuck blinked into the darkness. What the hell was Cain playing at? It was late, far too late for an official summons. And then she smiled. Okay. So this was part of the game, was it? She kept forgetting that things were very different on Pegasus than they were on Galactica. If the woman wanted to play mind games with her, well, she was more than happy to oblige. She was determined to keep her cool and showcase her new discipline and self-control. Luckily, it being far outside standard official hours, she didn't have to worry about her uniform, which was a good thing as it was currently in a crumpled heap on the floor where she'd thrown it in her earlier fit of rage. Quickly pulling on her tanks and combats, she headed for the door. 

***

Standing outside the Admiral's quarters, she felt a sudden shiver of fear. She shook it off angrily. Where did *that come from? Gods, she's just an Admiral, not a goddess! Irritable with herself, Starbuck buzzed the door. 

"Yes" came the cold voice. 

This was it. Starbuck swallowed, straightened her shoulders and entered. She snapped to attention just inside the doorway. Don't frak up at the first hurdle, Thrace. Maybe being friendly with Galactica's high ups had left her a little sloppy on the formalities, after all. Better to remember Pegasus was, even in these crazy days, run on the old extremely formal lines. But she'd caught this ball just in time though. Phew. 

Cain was sitting, for once - a very rare sight. She was leafing through some papers on her desk, her brow furrowed in thought. A glass of tea stood by her right hand. She sighed and rubbed at her temples, still pointedly refusing to acknowledge Starbuck's presence in her quarters. She didn't leave her hanging quite as long as before, but it was still far longer than was appropriate, even for an Admiral responding to the salute of a Captain. Again, Starbuck felt her right arm starting to ache before Cain finally acknowledged her. 

"I see even after your dressing down earlier, you still seem determined to show me absolutely zero respect, Captain". 

Kara gaped at her. What in Kobol's name had she done now? Cain rose, and began walking towards her slowly. She carried something in her left hand. Starbuck couldn't see exactly what it was with her chin firmly up in the air, but it looked like some kind of pocket knife. Now what the hell was that for. Cain reached her and stood still, not looking at her. She flipped open the instrument in her hand. It was a knife, Kara could see the reflection flash as the soft light in the room caught the blade. What in the name of holy frak was this?? She swallowed, feeling the surge of fear threaten to swamp her again. She fought it back.

"Your uniform, Captain. Where is it?"

"Err, ah Sir, it's.. soiled, Sir. I... ahh.. didn't think that it was necessary at th...."

Cain broke in. "You didn't think it was necessary. Well let me tell you, Captain, I don't know what kind of sloppy standards you've all been keeping over there on Galactica, but let me get one thing straight with you, right the hell now - if I summon you for any reason, any reason at all, I don't care if it's the middle of the night or the day before yesterday, if you've been too lazy to make sure you've got a spare uniform or even if the skies are opening and every, frakking, Cylon in the entire universe decides to drop in on us one by one, if you are summoned, to me, you *will appear in full, clean and ordered uniform. Is that clear?" 

Her voice had risen steadily throughout this speech, until at the end she was almost shouting. Kara swallowed. The Admiral was very close, right up in her personal space. This wasn't going at all as she'd hoped. 

"Yes sir" she said in a small voice. She felt absurdly as though she might cry. 

In one fluid motion, Cain got even closer. Grabbing Starbuck's tanks, she pulled her forwards so she was slightly off balance. 

"I said, is that clear, Captain??" She yelled this into Starbuck's face. Starbuck flinched, astonished. 

"Yes, sir!" she replied in a louder voice, as smartly as she could. She was trembling a little bit. She hoped the Admiral hadn't noticed. 

Cain released her grip and lightly, contemptuously, pushed her away. She turned, and paced back to her desk. She picked up the mug and took an appreciative sip. Replacing it on the desk, she asked, without looking at Kara, "So have you had the opportunity to do a little thinking tonight Captain? After our little... discussion, earlier?"

Gods, she still hadn't put her at ease. Kara was starting to cramp from the rigid position she was forced to hold herself in. Her arm was shaking as she held it to her head in a formal salute. She couldn't go on like this. Maybe she'd just forgotten. It couldn't hurt to ask, could it?

"Uhh.. Admiral.. Permission to stand at ease, Sir?"

"Denied. And that's strike two against you. Strike one being your shameful disregard for uniform requirements when in the presence of a superior officer. Want to try for three, Captain? Because right now I'm more than tempted just to lock you in my brig and throw away the key".

Oh gods. She was going to end up in the brig after all - after all her virtuous resolutions. There was no way she could get through the rest of this dressing down or whatever the hell this was, without committing some kind of further transgression. It'd be impossible for her at the best of times, but now, with her whole body screaming for release and with Cain gunning for her, ready to pounce on her slightest mistake.. It almost wasn't worth bothering to try- be easier just to give up and embrace the brig as her new home. At least she wouldn't have to salute anybody there. But the old Starbuck stubbornness kicked in, and she tightened up her pose, raising her jaw. 

Cain looked at her, put down her pen and steepled her fingers together. "I'm waiting, Captain. Please don't try my patience any further".

"Sir, yes sir, I did some thinking tonight, sir". Staring straight ahead. Felt frakking weird being this formal, at midnight, dressed in her tanks with messed up hair. 

Cain smiled at her tone. "Excellent! And tell me what, if any, conclusions you reached from all this thinking you did tonight?"

"I made a resolution to try and be good, Sir".

Cain laughed. "Isn't it a bit late for that, Thrace? You've got quite the reputation, on both of my ships. Who do you think's going to believe it if you suddenly start acting the angel? I know I certainly wouldn't. It'd only be a matter of time before you frakked up again, like you always do." 

Kara blinked. That was a bit harsh! Did she really deserve that? It was hard to think right now over the blood roaring in her ears. Cain rose and again approached, circling her to better observe the muscle tension visible all over her body as she fought to keep the unnatural position. Starbuck was damned if she was going to give the other woman the excuse to slam her into the brig. It was getting so hard, though.. 

Cain smirked as she saw Starbuck's bunched jaw muscles start to twitch. Interesting. She's done better than I thought she would. She might yet surprise me.. Aloud, she said "Alright, Captain. At ease". 

Ahhhhhh, the magic words!! Kara immediately dropped to parade rest, trying not to let her relief show in her face. She resisted the urge to rub her aching right arm. She suspected that Cain was fully aware, however - there was a funny little smile on her lips as she observed Kara. 

"Well, as it turns out, Captain, you're not the only one who's been doing a spot of thinking this evening. I've been thinking too, you see. In particular, I've been thinking about you, and about the problem you pose for me". She continued to circle Kara, predatory, like one of the big cats. 

"You see, Captain, people like you are a problem for me. I need people I can trust, who I can rely on to do what they're told in critical situations. Now you, you have the guts and the brains and the skills to be one of the best officers this fleet has ever produced, and yet I simply, can't, trust you. I made you my CAG, for frak's sake!! I can't keep throwing my CAG in hack!! In the real world, I'd have you thrown off my ship so hard you'd bounce when you hit the dock, but this isn't the good old days. You are, unfortunately, the best pilot, the best leader and the best CAG I've got. And I am not prepared to throw that away. So, I've come to a decision. You're no use to me, sitting in the brig for the next six months, eating my food and letting your fat ass get even fatter". 

Kara's mouth had been opening wider and wider and at this, her jaw fell almost to her chest. She did *not have a fat ass!!

Cain saw her reaction, and smiled. "Yes, you do, Captain, but don't worry, we're going to do something about it. Now, repeat after me: 'I am Starbuck, and I have a fat ass'".

What. The frak. Was this.. Starbuck's mind was whirling. She can't say that to me! And then she remembered again. Remembered several things, really. The real world was gone. Cain was the highest ranking officer left. She had to answer to nobody. Adama wouldn't be able to help her. And if she struck out this time, she really was going to sit in Pegasus' brig for six months. The most she'd ever done before had been thirty days, and even that had bored her almost to tears. As if reading her mind, Cain spoke behind her. 

"Now think carefully before choosing your response here, Captain. If you're going for strike three, you may wish to know that detainees in the brig aboard Pegasus have no visiting privileges whatsoever, unless I expressively order it otherwise". 

But.. but that's illegal!!! Kara's mind screamed. And then remembered again. Nobody to answer to, now. Nobody to hold back a woman like this. All the power opportunities of her world taken away- her desires to rule, to conquer, therefore finding outlets upon the only canvas left to her. Pegasus, and the people aboard her. And Starbuck, stupid, impetuous Starbuck, idiot that she was, had gone and thrown herself right into the firing line. 

Her mouth still hanging open, she stared at the Admiral, still struggling to understand what she'd just heard. Cain tapped her fingers on the desk. 

"I'm waiting, Captain. What's it going to be?" 

There was a challenge in her eyes, a glint that said she wasn't kidding. And Starbuck resolved to lose this battle but hang in there, hoping to get another chance to win the war. If she could only talk to the Commander, tell him what she'd just realised!! She'd have no options at all, locked in the brig. With no visitors. For six months. Who'd even remember her after six months? She came to a decision, closed her mouth, raised her head. She looked directly ahead, carefully avoiding Cain's eyes, and repeated the words she'd been ordered to say. Ignoring the shame that threatened to consume her. They were only words. Just words. That was all.

"I am Starbuck, and I have a fat ass".

Cain smiled. A vindictive smile, full of victory. "Very good, Captain. A wise choice. But you forgot something, didn't you?" She looked enquiringly at Starbuck. 

Starbuck, nonplussed, stared back at her. She'd said what she'd been ordered to say, hadn't she? Word for word? Had she missed something? She swallowed. Was it to be the brig after all? She'd decided, for the first time in her life, that she really did want to avoid this particular punishment. Now that the stakes were higher than they'd ever been before. She gazed at Cain, completely flummoxed. 

"Sir?"

Cain's smile grew wider. Showed teeth. "Exactly, Captain. So, would you care to try again? Last chance".

And Starbuck got it. Finally. She swallowed. This was even harder than the first time, but she managed to force the words out. She burned with the humiliation. 

"I am Starbuck, and I have a fat ass. Sir".

Cain clapped her hands, slowly, mockingly. "Excellent, Captain Thrace!! There appears to be hope for you after all!! I was beginning to believe otherwise. So. Now we've got that out of the way, and you've proven to me that you're willing to work with me on this, allow me to explain the conclusions I came to during my musings this evening. As I was saying, your skills and abilities are important to me, and to this ship. Conventional methods don't appear to work with you, and we've established that confinement in the brig would only serve to see your temper grow wilder, and your skills grow rustier, and your fat ass grow.." She stopped, standing before Kara again, moving closer so that she breathed the last word directly into her face - "fatter." 

She stood back to watch Kara's reaction. Starbuck felt the prick of tears behind her eyes and forced them back with a sheer effort of will. Cain smiled a thin smile. 

"So therefore, I've decided that the only thing to do with you is to train you myself. You will report to my quarters after each and every shift you complete. You will stay there until your next shift. You will spend all off duty time in my quarters IS THAT CLEAR! she suddenly rapped out, seeing Starbuck's eyes beginning to lose focus and bulge out of her head. Starbuck blinked. 

"Ah, sir, yes sir, but..." 

"I'M NOT FINISHED, CAPTAIN!!" Cain thundered. Starbuck flinched, but managed to hold her ground. Cain was inches from her face. She could smell the other woman's perfume. 

"No sir. Sorry sir", she muttered. This was all too much to take in. 

"So", Cain continued, her tones silky and soft again, "we're talking about a compromise situation, one in which I retain your expertise and experience, and you enjoy all the personal recreation time you would enjoy if you were, in fact, confined in my brig. That is to say, none. And yet you *do however get to fly Vipers, plan missions, train new pilots.. all of which will provide you with valuable and much-needed.." she cast her eyes down Starbuck's body to the region of her ass, "exercise". Starbuck closed her eyes in embarrassment. 

"So, it's a win-win situation all round, I think, yes?" She clasped her hands together and smiled at Starbuck. "Come and have a seat, Captain". She walked to her table and sat, not even bothering to see if Starbuck followed her. Feeling like a woman in a dream, Starbuck obeyed. Cain pushed some papers together and looked up, smiling. 

"This arrangement will be good for you in other ways too, Captain. Your habits are quite frankly debauched, and I look forward to teaching you more.. civilised ones. Just to be clear, once you accept the terms I'm offering you, there will no more visits to the bars or other such areas, no more living in the rack room, no more socialising with anyone, anywhere, off shift. You will eat in my quarters, and you will sleep in my quarters. This arrangement also means no drinking, no smoking, no gambling and no... frakking". She spat the word out distastefully, then looked up quickly and grinned. That grin.. it almost made her look human. "Until I say otherwise".

Starbuck listened open-mouthed to this speech. Couldn't quite comprehend the massive changes being proposed to her life. Cain was watching her, seemed to be waiting for her reaction. 

"Permission to speak freely, sir" she managed at last. Not making that mistake again. 

"You may". 

"Thank you sir. This.. arrangement...how long would it last? I'm..well, I'm just not sure how long I could live under those terms, you see". Her voice was small, pitiful. Humbled, at last. 

Cain laughed, reached forwards and gripped Starbuck's hand tightly. Wanted to say *forever* just to see the look on her face, but thought better of it. Let her get used to this a little at a time. 

"Until such time as you have proved to me that you can be trusted, Captain. How long that takes, well, that's really up to you". She smiled, gripped harder for a moment and then released Starbuck's hand. She sat back and pulled a new report towards her, allowing her victim time to think things through, and to come to the only possible choice. 

***

Starbuck sat at the Admiral’s table, thinking harder than she ever had before in her life. Mulling over the choice that was really no choice at all. If she refused Cain's deal, odds were good she'd never see Adama, Lee and all the others again. She knew damned well that if she refused, Cain would trump up some false evidence to ensure nobody who cared about her would ever want to see her again, much less go to the trouble of trying to gain access to the locked down fortress that was the Pegasus brig. She'd be carefully forgotten... Her mind suddenly provided an awful vision of her possible future..

"Hey man, all this gear's marked Starbuck. Who the frak's Starbuck?"  
"Uhh.. One of Galactica's hotshots. The best, actually. Moved to Pegasus to CAG for Admiral Cain".  
"Wow, big gun, huh? Surprised I haven't heard of him.. Hey look, I'm sorry man, talking about him like this... I guess he bought it, huh?".  
"Umm.. well.. not exactly.. and it's a she, not a he. Well, let's just say she went bad, okay. Did something... none of us could forgive... Hey, let's drop it now, okay? It's a little hard to talk about".  
"Okay, sure, no worries Helo! Hey, you wanna drop by the bar later? I hear they got some new experimental stuff in - probably shit but could be worth a look.."

Kara could actually hear the voices fading off in her mind as Helo and the nameless other walked away. New faces, from new ships, even new planets maybe, who knew? Faces she didn't know, because she was a fading memory locked in a cold cell on the lowest deck of the coldest ship in the universe. Cain would never let her out. She knew that now. Part of Kara (no Starbuck, not any more) was surprised she hadn't already killed her, tossed her out an airlock like the garbage she was considered to be. She guessed the only reason she was still alive is that Cain liked to come and sit with her from time to time, talk to her, play with her..

NO!! With a supreme effort, Starbuck thrust the vision away. She could not, would not, allow that to happen. She repudiated the very idea. She wanted to live, Godsdammit - and if the only way to do that was to yield to Cain right now, then so be it. She straightened in her chair, her decision made. She cleared her throat. 

"Admiral Cain?" 

For a moment there was no response, the Admiral dragging out her moment of victory to its fullest extent, and then she raised her head, laid her pen neatly upon the desk, and met Kara's earnest gaze. 

"Yes, Captain? Have you made your mind up?" 

"Uhh, yes I have, sir, I would like to accept the terms of your offer as you have laid them out. Sir".

Victory bells were pealing in Cain's head.. To have brought the illustrious Starbuck so low! And to achieve it so quickly! And with such promise of the pleasure yet to come.. Just goes to prove what everybody already knew - Helena Cain was the frakking best. And nobody ever better forget it!

She revealed none of her emotion in her voice as she spoke. 

"Very well. I think you've made an excellent decision, Captain. Perhaps my influence is beginning to rub off on you already. You will officially be on my Personal Training Programme, which is information you are permitted to reveal to anyone who enquires into your new... lifestyle. Report to my quarters after the end of your shift tomorrow, please. Bring with you any personal items you wish - anything I deem unnecessary or inappropriate I will confiscate and destroy. So choose carefully. In fact, I think it might be better for you to try and bring with you as little as possible. Call it a fresh start". 

She moved her eyes back to her paperwork, reached for a fresh file. Business meeting over, then. Starbuck sat stunned. 

After a long moment Cain raised her head and looked pointedly at her. "That will be all Captain", she said, as if explaining something to an idiot. 

"Right Sir. Yes Sir", Kara said, pushing her chair back. Standing, she saluted. She was operating pretty much on autopilot now, following the routines drilled into them in initial training. If she thought about all of this, right now, she thought her brain might explode. 

Cain tossed her another half-assed salute without even looking at her. "Dismissed, Captain. See you tomorrow".


	2. Initialising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara struggles to come to terms with the terms of Cain's proposal. Cain's training programme begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've probably got shift times and all that sort of thing completely wrong - sorry. Hey, I didn't watch the show for the military detail :)

Starbuck was tired the next day. She'd lain awake for hours, unable to sleep, running the details of the Admiral's proposal over and over in her mind. When her alarm sounded and she hauled herself tiredly out of her rack, her eyes were gritty and her head felt full of sand. Looking back for a moment before heading to the showers, she felt an unexpected wave of self-pity engulf her. My rack. My pictures. My things. She wouldn't see any of them again for a very long time, perhaps never. She'd already made the decision not to take anything personal to Cain's quarters. Best not to give her any ammunition, or any opportunities to twist the knife. She'd got all the cards as it was. 

She sighed. Better knock off that sort of talk as well, Thrace, she told herself. Remember, gambling's forbidden for you now. Now that it's officially your first day on Helena Cain's godsbedamned Personal Training Programme... Now the tears really did threaten, spilling fatly from the corners of her eyes, and Kara headed slowly for the showers, hoping to hide the evidence of her humiliation even from herself. 

Fat ass, spoke up a voice in her mind. Don't forget to take extra soap to wash that fat ass.. 

***

Starbuck got through that day operating mostly on autopilot. Thankfully things were relatively quiet, so she wasn't required to patrol. Might've been tempted just to point her bird at some distant star and just keep on going.. but no. That wasn't her style. Hell, nothing had even happened to her yet! She gave herself a mental shake as she worked, upside down beneath her own Viper. Some things you just didn't leave to others to do, she thought, grinning faintly as she wiped her hands on a wad of cotton wool. Well, she'd got her baby back with its circuits no longer resembling noodle soup. As she sat up, she realised vaguely that she was happier than she'd been all day. 

"Good afternoon, Captain". 

The cold voice came from behind her head as she sat on the ground. She froze. Her mind immediately went into panic-mode, throwing up all different kinds of gibberish. She shook herself. People were present, people were observing them. Cally was standing near, pretending to fiddle with a neighbouring unit, but Starbuck knew damned well that she was drinking all of this in. She wished Cain had left the irritating pouty little deckhand back on Galactica. She gave a sigh. She supposed Cally would be popular in the mess tonight, with this particular hot piece of gossip to share.. 

"..hey guys, guess who came to see Starbuck at work today? Yup, the illustrious Rear Admiral Cain herself!!... Uhuhh, yeah, it was really weird, the Admiral said hello and Starbuck just went into this weird-ass trance or something.. Yeah, I know.. I never saw her do anything like that before either, but...man, you should have seen it! You think they’re frakking, or something??"

Enough. She would not permit her humiliation to be compounded any further than necessary. She pulled herself together. 

"Hello, Admiral," she said quietly. Cain grinned at her, began stalking all the way around her Viper. She called out to her from the far side. 

"Gods, Starbuck, I must declare I’m feeling perky today! I slept like a baby last night. I put it down to the psychological benefits to making a decision." 

Well, I can piss all over that theory, Starbuck thought sourly. I made a decision of my own last night, and now I look like shit. As if reading her mind, Cain leaned closer to where Starbuck sat, leaning against the hull of her Viper. 

"And you, how do you feel today, Captain?" She smirked slightly as she phrased the question. Starbuck sighed. Just be normal.

"I'm okay, thanks Sir. I just.. didn't get very much sleep last night. I'm a little tired". 

"Well then, maybe you shouldn't be working on my birds while you're in such a... state?" Her eyes twinkled at Starbuck. 

Oh no. Oooohhhh no. Not happening. This was Kara's last day of freedom before she discovered exactly what was in store for her. She wasn't about to be directed to the Admiral's quarters a millisecond sooner than she had to. 

"Oh no, Sir, I'm just fine, really. Honestly". She reached deep and pulled out one of her trademark beguiling, cheeky Starbuck smiles. The ones that usually got her out of trouble with the Commander and, less often, with Lee. It cut frak all ice with Cain though. She merely sniffed, her lips thinned, holding Starbuck's gaze as the smile slowly faded. Kara bowed her head. 

"Well, that's good, Captain. I'll look forward to seeing you, in my office, at 18.00. I believe you have some papers to sign". She saluted smartly, a far cry from the contemptuous efforts she'd given Starbuck last night, in private. And Starbuck understood. And, in a pathetic kind of way, she was grateful. So her humiliation wasn't to be complete, then. She was to be afforded the usual dignity given to someone of a Captain's rank, at least while she was on duty. 

At least while she was on duty... And then she realised exactly what this incident was intended to show her. While she was on duty, yes.. but when she was off? Cain was showing her the contrast, and was showing her now, in front of her team, meaning for her to come to the realisation now instead of the privacy of her quarters. It was just another way of Cain demonstrating the complete power she now held over each and every aspect of Starbuck's existence. She saw her new realisation recognised in Cain's eyes, saw the satisfaction there. She fought not to drop her own gaze. 

She began to see, dimly, just how bad this could get, the heights to which Cain's cruelty could reach. The depths to which she, herself, could sink. She saw all of this reflected in the Admiral's eyes and wondered, not for the last time, if at any point there was anything she could have done to escape this trap into which she had neatly fallen. She couldn't see it, and now wasn't the time to wonder. Didn't matter now, anyway. She was caught, like the proverbial fly in the web. Only thing she could do now was to attempt to preserve as much dignity as she could in front of her team. As it looked to her as if her work life was going to be the one area of dignity, of sanity, that she was to be allowed to retain. She swallowed, aware that Cain was waiting for her to respond. She snapped a salute, spoke with a voice that wasn't quite steady. 

"Yes of course, Sir. I'll be there".

***

18:00 hours. Kara watched as the day shift packed up their gear, laughing and joking as they prepared to leave work for the evening. Some of them might be heading for their quarters, to meet dates, to cook a meal.. Some might be heading for the gym to work up a sweat.. She reckoned most of them'd go straight to the bars, though. Since the end of the world, people had become much less inclined to worry about their bad habits. Live for today, that was humanity's new motto. And, in her past life, the one that had ended only last night, she'd have been joining them. Spend her evening at the centre of a rowdy, laughing bunch, knocking back shots, playing cards, smoking cigars, gambling. Everything she was now expressively forbidden to do. To stagger to her rack in the small hours, maybe alone, sometimes not, ready to do it all again tomorrow. Not now, however. She didn't know exactly what her new life would hold, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't contain anywhere near as much fun. These thoughts were pointless, anyway. It was time to find out how this was going to play. She came back to herself with a start. The hangar deck was nearly empty. She looked at the time and was dully horrified to see that it was already 18:04. She was going to be late. 

***

She was standing to attention. Again. She had a feeling that she was going to be doing that a lot from now on. Cain, as usual, was ignoring her. Without even saying a word, she had a way of making Kara feel like she was the most worthless creature in the universe. After a few minutes, Cain stood and moved towards her. 

"As this is your first night, Captain, I should probably explain to you a little of what you may expect over the coming months. More will become apparent as we go along. However, a fundamental part of my plan for you, Starbuck, is physical discipline. I think it's something you've been sadly lacking in your career to date, and I personally think that you'll respond to it very well. We will find out". She opened a locked trunk and brought out something that made Kara's mind reel. 

"This is a cane. Similar to what they used to use in boarding schools. It's quite a harsh choice for your first time, but then again you're a tough one, or at least you think you are, and therefore I believe it's best to break down your resistance as quickly as possible". 

Kara was completely stunned. In her wildest nightmares she'd never expected that Cain would go this far.   
"Plus", the Admiral said, smiling widely, "It's a very apropos choice, don't you think? The name has a certain.. s  
ymmetry, wouldn't you say, Starbuck?". The smile dropped. 

"Now. Allow me to explain. There are currently ten strokes on the clock. For every minute from the time I start counting that you are able to stand to attention, giving me the respect I deserve, I'll remove a stroke from your punishment. So, if you manage to keep the position for three minutes, your punishment reduces to seven strokes. Do you understand?".

Gods.. This was all moving too fast.. She couldn't think.. didn't know what she was supposed to do. She shook her head, moaned out "Noooo..", not so much in answer to Cain's question, but in negation of this whole situation, and of the degraded shambolic mess which was the ruins of her life. 

Cain smiled. She understood. Of course she did. 

"No? So it's to be the brig after all, is it, Captain? I must admit I fail to follow your logic on this one. What makes you think I can't perform this.. chastisement, this very necessary chastisement, there as well as here? And if you decide that you'd prefer it there instead, you might find that the experience would be a mite.. harder on you that it may be here." She smiled, circling the trembling pilot. 

"You wouldn't be going on shift afterwards, you see. I could mark you anywhere.." Her hand rose, traced the lines of Kara's face, of her neck, of her throat. "Anywhere I chose". Her hand dropped, ran slowly down Kara's spine, stopped just above the cleft of her buttocks. 

"You wouldn't need to sit, or to stand up. It wouldn't bother me in the slightest if the only position you could maintain without severe discomfort was to be flat on your nasty face. On the floor". She stopped, smiling. She was very close to Kara. All Kara could hear was the whoosh of the air recyclers and her own hitched breathing. 

"So, what's it to be, Captain? Bearing in mind you've already been holding that pose for at least twenty minutes since you arrived tonight, and that I haven't yet started the clock, so every minute you waste fighting this is a minute that could've reduced the level of your punishment". 

Gods. This woman was just.. relentless! Kara'd never experienced anyone like her before. Never before had she been so effortlessly outwitted, kept so completely off balance. Never given a moment to think. Her mouth opened, almost of its own accord. 

"Yes sir. I understand".

"Good. And you agree?" Cain barked at her. 

"Yy..yes, sir". 

"Excellent. The clock stands at ten lashes, Captain. See how well you can do". She moved back to the desk, to the watch. Took her sweet ass time about it. Eventually picking it up and starting the clock. Not bothering to look at Kara, still standing at strained attention. Her body was already beginning to shake. She wasn't sure how much longer she could last. Fffrrakk... How had she managed to get herself into this? Even by her own high standards, this was one almighty frak up. 

"One minute, Captain. Nine strokes". 

Only one frakking minute?? That couldn't be right! Had to have been at least five.. Oh gods.. Help me.. She tried to stop thinking, just concentrate on forcing her abused muscles to hold their unnatural position. 

"Two minutes. Eight strokes". 

She couldn't maintain this much longer. She thought bitterly of the time she'd wasted while Cain laid out her alternative to this torture. Had to've been at least four minutes, maybe even five. That would've brought the number down to.. down to.. Cain's voice broke into her thoughts. 

"Three minutes. Seven strokes". 

Good. Good. That was the way, instead of trying not to think, try to distract yourself. Come on. If you'd used those five minutes like you should've done, Thrace, you'd already be down to.. c'mon, think!! Two strokes. That was it. She could be on two strokes. Instead, it was.. 

"Four minutes. Six strokes. You're doing well, Captain. I'm impressed". 

She couldn't hold out much longer though. It just wasn't possible. Even now she could feel her right arm swaying, bending of its own accord. She tried to force it back up, but it wasn't listening. It was by her cheek, by her jaw.. It dropped to her shoulder.. 

"I think that stops the clock, don't you Captain?" She heard the hated voice through a haze. "Six strokes. Not bad, for a first attempt. See if you can do better tomorrow". 

Kara pushed away entirely the implications of the reference to tomorrow. Six godsdamned strokes with the cane. She hadn't been physically punished in a long time, had sworn it would never happen to her again. And yet here she was. Her tormentor was gesturing to her couch. 

"Come here, Thrace". Kara stood still, in the centre of the room, frozen in disbelief. This wasn't really going to happen, was it? 

Cain looked up, visibly annoyed. "That's an order, Captain!" 

Kara got moving at last, moving on dragging feet towards the couch. 

"Remove your lower garments". Kara did so. Keeping her eyes on the floor. Cain watched her every move, her expression unreadable. 

"Kneel down here", Cain gestured to the end of the couch where a cushion lay ready. 

Kara obeyed. It was easier not to think, she was finding. She was told to bend over, stretch her arms along the length of the couch. She wouldn’t think about the fact that her bare ass was up in the air over the Admiral’s couch. 

"Very good. I think we'll begin. It's about time your rehabilitation began in earnest, don't you think, Captain?". 

Kara heard the crack behind her but for long moments didn't feel any pain. Just a numbing sensation on her right butt cheek. 

"Oh, yes. Yes, that's just beautiful!" She heard the words behind her but they didn't make much sense. And then the pain hit her. She gasped, clutching desperately at the seat of the couch. Fffrrakk.. Frakking frack that hurt!! Five more of those to come.. I can't.. I just cc..can't.. 

The cane cracked again behind her, on her left cheek this time, and Kara gasped again. This one was more of a groan. The third blow landed on her thigh and she couldn't help it, her right hand reached around to ease the pain, to prevent another blow. 

"Resume your position, Captain" the cold voice spoke behind her. "Every time you move from it will earn you another stroke. That's your one free pass. There won't be another". 

Gasping, Kara returned her hand to the couch seat in front of her. The fourth stroke hit her other thigh, as she'd known it would. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. Two more. She was going to be able to do this. Number five was back to her ass and she cried out for real this time, couldn't help it. Cain took her time laying the final stroke, just dragging out her pleasure or perhaps wishing she'd set the bar higher in the first place. Starbuck wouldn't put it past her to change her own rules. She was, effectively, answerable to nobody. Kara pressed her face into the couch and silently prayed that she would not. 

The sixth blow fell, fittingly, on the other buttock. It was harder than the previous five, reinforcing Kara's sense that Cain really didn't want to stop. She cried out helplessly, the sound a mixture between a gasp and a sob. Her fingers clutched uselessly at the couch seat. And Cain stopped. 

Kara heard the cane hit the floor with a clatter. She held still. Wasn't risking doing anything that might anger the Admiral, give her an excuse to pick up that instrument of torture again. Cain's voice came from high above her. 

"I thought it.. fitting, to start and finish with your backside, Thrace. Being as how that's the area which needs most of our attention, as it were. Mind you, I probably could have hit you on the ass twice as many times and still not crossed one mark over another". Kara closed her eyes in misery as Cain leaned closer, laid light hands on her shoulders and breathed gently in her ear.

"And why is that, Captain?". The tears were spilling from her eyes, soaking into the couch. She wasn't sobbing, not yet, but she was holding it together by a supreme effort of will. She knew what Cain wanted her to say. She knew alright. Right now, she just wanted this to stop, and was prepared to do pretty much anything to make that happen.

"Because I've.." her breathing hitched in a sob and she started again, "Because I've got a fat ass, sir". And she heard Cain laughing delightedly above her as she finally allowed her misery to overwhelm her. 

***

"Now, the number of strokes we set the clock at will depend on the instrument I'm using on each occasion, do you understand?"

So this hadn't just been a one off. Cain meant this to be a regular occasion. Gods. 

"Therefore, for the cane, the bar is set low. For the riding crop, however, we can go a lot higher to begin with. Thirty, maybe even forty lashes". *Sweet Lords of Kobol.. 

Cain smiled, wiped a tear from Kara's cheek. "And maybe, when you've tried them all, you'll be allowed to choose which one you want each evening".


	3. Adjusting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starbuck learns more about what is required of her on Cain's programme. Gossip about her predicament spreads throughout the fleet.

Kara learned that on Cain's training programme, punishment came after respect, and supper came after punishment. She was whimpering on the couch when the buzzer sounded on the door. Kara looked up, her face a mask of shame. She turned to look at Cain in silent appeal. Cain took pity on her. She'd done well for her first evening, taken the cane better than most, and Cain thought that she deserved the reward of her new-found shame not being described to the whole fleet. Plus, she selfishly wanted to keep the sight to herself, for now. 

"Into the bathroom, Captain".

She watched with disguised pleasure as the naked Starbuck hurried to obey, the livid marks on her ass and thighs standing out like racing stripes on her smooth white flesh. Smiling, Cain received the marine bearing tonight's dinner, and got rid of him with a curt word of dismissal. She arranged the food on plates, her anticipation heightening. She chuckled to herself. This was going to be another milestone, another marker that Starbuck was going to have to accept. Her grin widened as she heard the lock click and Starbuck's nervous enquiry, "Sir?". 

"Come on, Captain, stop hiding in the bathroom". She was laughing inside, barely holding it together on the surface. "Food's getting cold". 

Starbuck exited the bathroom. Her arms were wrapped around her body, trying to hide her nakedness. She spotted her clothes on the living room floor and made a move towards them. Cain stopped her in her tracks by clearing her throat. "Captain?" 

Kara turned. Cain tossed her a bundle of wadded up material. "Put that on", she ordered. 

"Sir?" Kara was confused, holding the garment up. It was an oversized cotton shirt.. but it was short.. would barely cover her ass. Kara felt so vulnerable right now, wanted nothing more than to pull on every item of clothing she possessed. And then to crawl into her rack, pull the curtain across and never come out again. 

"I said, put it on, Captain. You really are extraordinarily dreadful at following the simplest of orders. I'm beginning to regret making you my CAG, you know. I may have to rethink my decision..." 

Kara got the message and quickly pulled the shirt over her head. As she'd thought, it rode up in the back, leaving much of her red and stinging ass on view. She hauled it downwards as best she could. 

"Better", said Cain. She motioned towards the table. "Come and eat, Captain. It's not every day that an Admiral invites you to dinner". 

Kara moved slowly towards the table. Her mind felt curiously numb. She was still trying to process the fact that she'd just been beaten, whipped on her ass.. the humiliation stung almost harder than the pain of the strokes themselves. She looked at the chair that had been placed ready for her. 

"Sit", said Cain, smiling wickedly. 

Starbuck swallowed. She knew sitting was going to be a trial for some time. Cain sat in her own comfortable chair, a plush velvet affair, a chair completely at odds with her usual no nonsense, no frivolity, no luxuries attitude. The chair laid ready for Starbuck was cold, it was metal, it was upright. It was... unforgiving. Starbuck looked at the Admiral. Saw no signs of mercy in her quietly smiling eyes. Swallowing, Starbuck sat. She winced immediately. This wasn't unbearable, but gods, she could do without it right now. Right now, she wanted to throw herself face down in her rack and cry herself to sleep. Not allowed. She steeled herself to get through the evening as best she could, to behave like an officer of the colonial fleet. She could do this. Yes, she could. She eased her position in her chair and winced as her hot bottom encountered another cold spot on the unforgiving metal chair. 

Only then did she look down at the dishes laid ready on the table. She smelt the food immediately, now her mind was engaged with it. Some kind of fancy casserole, she thought, as she looked at the plate in front of Cain. Rich, aromatic casserole, filled with chunks of real meat. A bowl of greens stood ready by her elbow, as did a plate of fresh, aromatic bread. A glass of red wine sat by her right hand. 

Gods... Was this how Cain are every night? Starbuck couldn't remember that last time she'd seen or smelt food this good. Well before the destruction of the colonies, that was for sure. She began to smile. A thought sprang unbidden into her brain, Well, if this is how she eats every night, maybe spending the next however long here won't be so bad after all. Then she looked up and met Cain's gaze. Cain was looking at her with an almost hungry smile. Kara returned it nervously and looked down at her own plate. 

Sitting in front of her was a salad. And not a particularly nice salad. This wasn't really even worthy of the name. Just a few leaves of lettuce and some protein cubes. This wasn't dinner. This was.. this was a joke. She looked up. The Admiral looked at her, paused in the action of tearing off some of her bread. Her eyes danced, dared her to ask the question. Kara looked down again. She'd lost all her fight for one night. So even dinner was going to be a torment for her. She never ate this early, anyway. This time of night, she was still in a bar or the rec room, downing shots like there was no tomorrow... Sensing Cain's eyes on her, she picked up a lettuce leaf and toyed with it listlessly. 

"Is there something the matter with your food, Lieutenant?" There was danger in that voice. 

"No sir", Kara replied quietly. 

"Well, that's grand. I suggest you eat it, and quickly. We've got things to do this evening". 

Kara felt crushed. She didn't want to eat this crap, but really, what else could she do? She began to thrust the leaves into her mouth, interspersing them with cubes of nameless protein mix. Gods. They ate better than this in the mess hall, and that was saying something. The smell of Cain's food came wafting enticingly across the table, and Kara's stomach growled. She couldn't help it. Cain smiled. 

"Did you say something, Lieutenant?", she asked with mock concern, knowing damn well Kara hadn't. Kara fought down her hunger pangs, refused to acknowledge the exquisite torture Cain had arranged without even laying a hand upon her. The woman was just pure evil. Kara reached for her glass, noting with a wry smile that it contained plain water, no wine for her. Of course not. Kara's blood rose. Frak her. Two could play at her game, and Kara had no intention of being beaten just yet. 

"Oh, no sir. This all looks quite delightful. Please allow me to thank you for inviting me to dinner". 

Cain laughed out loud at her sarcastic outburst, continued to laugh as she laid down her fork and proceeded to grasp Starbuck's shoulder across the table. 

"Exquisite! That's what you are, my dear! Even though you don't even know it yet". She laughed once more, returning her attention to her own loaded fragrant plate. Furious, Starbuck did the same. She cleared her plate doggedly, forcing down the plain unappetising fare as across from her Cain snacked her lips and continued to enjoy her gourmet dinner with evident pleasure. 

***

The torment continued after dinner, if you could even call the crap she'd been forced to eat worthy of that name. After a brief rest to allow her meagre food to settle, Kara was ordered to the treadmill. Never mind that she never had any time for this kind of shit in the usual scheme of things, never mind that the very last thing she felt like doing now was any form of exercise. All of her protests were ignored. 

"Come on, Thrace! Get to it!" Cain ordered her onto the machine. Murderous, Kara obeyed. Cain set the pace quite high, making Kara work up a sweat almost immediately. 

"Come on, Captain! It's barely even moving!" Cain goaded her, laughing at her resentful glare. Kara was breathing heavily now, determined not to break. She pounded on that treadmill like it, not Cain, were her enemy. Her breathing came in pants, then in gasps, as Cain upped the speed. She stuck to her task grimly. She would not break. She would not give up... At last Cain hit the button to stop the treadmill and turned to look at Kara with what might almost have been respect in her eyes. 

"Okay, Captain, enough for tonight". Kara hopped off the machine, feeling absurdly victorious. She'd won this round at least. Cain looked at her. 

"For your first night, you've done well, Thrace. Now, it's late, and I've got to get to CIC. Get in the bathroom and wash up. When you're done, back on the treadmill. You can sit on it, run on it, frak it for all I care. But you will not leave that machine until I come back. Is that clear?" 

"Yes, sir". Kara muttered. She didn't know yet what she'd do once Cain had gone. She was still suffused with her mini-victory, and, for now at least, that was enough. 

***

After she’d cooled off a little, Kara used Cain’s private shower and, still following Cain’s final instructions, prepared herself for bed. Bed?? It was still practically the middle of the afternoon! Nevertheless, she obeyed, and as she stood enjoying the hot water and the privacy, she thought grimly that finally she’d managed to find at least one measly upside to this otherwise totally frakked up situation.

When she emerged, fresh and pink from the steam, and feeling somehow strangely young and innocent, she went over to the treadmill. She considered it, pulling the tail of her shirt down absently over her ass. She’d found some cold cream in the Admiral’s bathroom cabinet which she’d smeared over the welts, and they really didn’t seem be hurting as much as they had. She still didn’t want to sit down on the treadmill, though. Knew damn well that Cain would know if she’d disobeyed the order to stay on the machine. She sighed. Reached out a hand and laid it on one of the support bars. Would that do? She refused to consider the picture she was presenting, how obedient she must look. 

***

She was still standing there, carefully thinking about nothing in particular, when Cain returned. The Admiral looked flushed, pleased about something. Kara supposed that that was a good thing, for her. 

“Hello, Captain! Have you had a nice evening?”

“Yes sir”, Kara replied automatically. She kept her hand on the treadmill. The treadmill was her friend. Cain laughed.

“Good. Now, come over here”.

She was directed to a chair beneath Cain's bookshelves. "This is where you'll spend the remainder of your evenings, Captain. Reading. In an endeavour to improve your disordered and inappropriate mind". 

Reading. She didn't read. Had no time for that shit. She looked up at Cain disbelievingly. 

"Uh, Admiral? That's not exactly my thing, you know?" She laughed a little shakily. "Never really got into it, never had the time.." 

"Exactly". Cain cut her off. "So now that you *do have the time, now that you're no longer frakking about in the rec room, acting in a manner entirely inappropriate for your rank and responsibilities, you will read. Perhaps if you'd done more of it earlier, you'd find yourself better able to conduct yourself like an officer now. Never mind. It's never too late, as they say". She smiled at Starbuck. 

"Now.. let's see. Ah yes, this fits the bill nicely". She handed Kara a think book with leather bindings. It looked very old. The pilot accepted it gingerly. It was heavy. A dusty smell rose from it. 

"It's Deros' book of philosophy, Captain. It contains several principles of human behaviour which relate to your particular.. characteristics. Deros makes some interesting points, as you will see. We'll discuss your impressions, as you go. I think I'll even require you to prepare a work of analysis after each session, which I will examine". 

Great. Homework too. Kara sighed mentally. This was going from bad to worse. She turned the book in her hands. Dry, dusty old theories. Cain couldn't even make her read something interesting.. But, she supposed, that was the point. It wouldn't be much of a punishment if she enjoyed it. But this... She looked up at Cain and grinned, a little of the old Starbuck attitude resurfacing. 

"Sir, I don't know if I can even read this. I'm just a dumbass Viper jock, y'know. This thing looks like it doesn't even have any pictures..." She laughed at her own sarcasm. Cain didn't join her, but gave a thin lipped smile of her own. 

"Your wit is noted, Captain. As is your apparent desire to insult your own intelligence. Now. There is paper here, if you wish to make notes. You have two hours until bed, and in that time you will read. At the end of the two hours, I will expect to receive your initial impressions of Deros' first theory, and I will expect them in a reasoned, rational format with a sensible conclusion. Do you have any questions?" 

Starbuck stared at her, curled her lip bitterly. Frak this.. She'd almost rather be beaten. 

"Just one, sir. Do I have to take it with me to the bathroom? While I sit on the frakking can and take a load off? 'Cause I'm just about ready to explode..." 

Cain's smile tightened still further. She reached out and took the book from Kara's hands, placing it gently on the shelf. 

"No, Captain. You will not be required to take it to the bathroom. You may, however, take this with you to the bathroom.." 

Her hand shot out stupid fast and gripped Kara by the hair, the strong fingers tangling in the pilot's thick mop. She dragged her bodily from her seat and pushed her against the wall. Kara gasped in surprise. Cain pushed her face very close to hers and whispered, "and you may take this.." she pinched Starbuck's nipple viciously through the thin material of the gown. Starbuck jerked and cried out in pain. "And this..." she pushed her violently back against the wall, knocking the breath out of her, "and this..." she forced her knee up sharply between Starbuck's legs, a solid thumping contact that made the pilot groan with pain, doubling up. Cain let her fall to the floor, hands grasping between her legs, whimpering. She grabbed her by the hair again and pulled her upright on her knees. "And how about this, just for good measure?" She slapped Starbuck hard across the face. The pilot held her hands to her face, trying not to cry. The cocky arrogance was gone; not a shred of it remaining. Cain stared down at her, breathing heavily. 

“Was there anything else you wanted to take to the bathroom, Thrace?" 

Starbuck lowered her hands and stared at her tormentor with liquid, wounded eyes. Despite her best efforts, a tear slipped down her face. She’d only been joking, anyway. She’d used the toilet earlier, when Cain was out. Like anyone normal person would’ve done. She felt embarrassed that the Admiral had thought she was serious. But there was no way she could say so now. She replied in a shaky voice, "Ah, no, sir". 

"Good. Then hurry the frak up and get back out here. I will not have you wasting any more of my time. Is that clear?" Her tone indicated she was still furious. Starbuck wasn't going to risk any further displays of her rage. 

"Yes, sir", she replied meekly. Still couldn't believe the speed and ferocity of the assault. She pushed herself shakily to her feet. The Admiral stood toe to toe with her, looking at her in disgust. She reached out and found Starbuck's nipple once more, her eyes fixed on her own the whole time. She increased the pressure gradually, watching the pilot's face change as the pain grew steadily, until she could no longer hold back an anguished cry. Cain smiled at last and let up. Before releasing her victim, she gave one last savage tweak that made Starbuck moan in real pain, before she let her go. 

"That's for your insolence, Thrace. Don't let it happen again".

***

Kara heard the conversation as she worked behind an access panel, hidden from view. Cally talking to the Chief. About her. She listened, knowing she wouldn't hear anything to improve her frame of mind, but unable to stop herself. 

"Hey, Chief, what's up with Starbuck the last few days? She's been like totally weird.. quiet all the time. I dropped a wrench on the shield of her bird and you know how normally she'd've chewed me out for that? Yelled so that everyone could hear? Well, this time she just said it didn't matter. Like really quiet, y'know? And she didn't even look at me. Something's not right, Chief, I just know it". 

"Uhuh", Galen muttered, not looking up from the oil change he was working on. His mind was on Starbuck though. He knew what Cally meant, had noticed the change in the pilot's behaviour himself. He'd heard rumours, had asked Apollo the same question. What he'd learned had disquieted him. He didn't, however, want his team or anyone gossiping about Starbuck, spreading rumours and whispering behind her back. If what he'd heard was true, she was in a bad enough situation without feeling isolated from her colleagues. He wasn't about to let that happen. 

"Chief?" Cally pressed. "C'mon, you got to have heard something! You know everything that goes on around here! Whaddaya think's going on with her?" 

Galen wiped his hands on an old towel. "What I *think", he said carefully, turning to look at Cally, "is that you should be more careful about where you go dropping wrenches. We've got two busted birds to patch up today as it is, which is why I’ve been dragged away from *my hangar deck and *my ship to help you lame-asses out, and I don’t need you giving me another one. And.." he held up a hand, forestalling Cally's indignation, "and, next time it happens Starbuck might not be so nice about it, and you might very well end up with that wrench somewhere you hadn't planned for it". 

Cally shut her mouth and looked at him with wounded eyes. 

"It was an accident, Chief", she muttered. 

"I know, Cal", he said, eyes softening. "All I'm saying is that whatever's going on is Starbuck's business, and she wouldn't thank us for gossiping about it. So let it go, okay?" 

"Okay" she replied, looking puzzled but not pressing the matter further. Starbuck smiled behind the panel. Good old Chief. Always had her back. She knew nothing he could do would stop the rumours, however. She was the hot gossip on both Galactica and Pegasus right now. 

***

Later, Galen thought back to his conversation with Lee, yesterday after Galactica’s CAG had returned from a routine CAP. He'd asked pretty much the same question Cally'd just asked him; ‘Personal Training Programme, huh? What the frak's that?’, but he got an answer. Of sorts. 

"Well, I don't know all the details, Chief, but from what I gather, Kara's stepped out of line once too many times, if you get what I mean. The Admiral's put her on some kind of training plan, means she's not allowed to go to the mess hall, not allowed to drink, play cards, socialise at all. She even has to eat and sleep in Cain's quarters, from what I heard". 

"Whoa! Can Cain even do that? That's pretty harsh, especially for Starbuck!" Galen stared at Lee, open mouthed. 

"Yeah, I know. She clammed right up when I asked her about it, wouldn't talk to me. I think it's getting to her already. And as for can Cain do that, well, she's the Admiral, isn't she? Don't see that there's anyone who can stop her”. He sighed in frustration. “And now that she’s sent me back to Galactica, I can’t even keep an eye out for Kara anymore. I think she’s trying to keep me out of the way so I can’t interfere in whatever it is she’s doing". 

"But what's the point of it?" Galen asked, trying to wrap his brain around what he was hearing. 

"Dunno, really, think the idea's to teach her better behaviour, not to sass back at superior officers, do stupid things you know like she does.." 

"Wow" Galen said. "D'you think it'll work?" 

"Well, not if the old man'd tried it. But Cain.. well, she's harsh. I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of her, that's for sure. I think Starbuck's met her match this time, that's what I think. I think Cain's got her over a barrel and there's not one damn thing she can do about it".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this without remembering the finer details of who was stationed where etc, so then I had to go back and justify it afterwards. Thus, Lee's Galactica CAG again, Galen's helping out on Pegasus, etc. Hope it works!


	4. Sliding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get steadily worse for Starbuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry - as per note on previous chapter I've managed to write this with all the characters in the wrong places - oops! So, Katraine is now on Pegasus. In hindsight, it would've been easier just to move Cain to Galactica.. :)

There was a cot in the corner of the room. Cain had had it brought in at the start for appearances sake, but it was never used. Kara slept on the treadmill. That first night, after she’d been forced to read for two hours in silence and then led haltingly through her understanding of the concepts she’d encountered, she was tossed an old blanket and given the order. She'd simply stared in astonishment. This couldn't be! 

"Is there a problem, Captain?" The gravelly voice broke through her horror. 

"Sir... I can't sleep on that, sir!!" 

"Oh, you can, and you will. It seems.. appropriate that you spend as much time as possible in close proximity to the device which will assist you in your transformation. You may even dream of it, don't you think, Captain? It may.. *inspire you to greater effort, each evening". She gave Kara a wolfish grin. "Face it, Thrace, that treadmill is your new best friend. Learn to love it".

Kara cried in humiliation, that first night. She couldn't help it. Having no choice, she curled up on the cold pad of the treadmill, where Cain's sweaty feet had pounded countless thousand miles. She had no pillow; her face rested on the belt. She fancied she could smell old sweat and feet cheese, although that was probably just her imagination. She pulled the rough blanket around her, trying to avoid touching the cold metal bars of the machine. The sobs shook her body, and she tried to bite them back. She didn't want to be punished further, or laughed at, that night. She wanted peace, and her old life back. But that wasn't going to happen. She forced the sobs back and cuddled deeper into her blanket. She thought it would be impossible to sleep, but she was both physically and mentally exhausted from the last few days. 

Cain smiled in the darkness, lying wakeful but filled with a calm sense of righteousness and peace which promised sleep in the near future. She listened to the stifled sobs quieted into sniffles. She knew damned well that Starbuck was muffling them with the blanket, that she was frightened she would attract her attention. She was trying, which was the main thing. Cain would give her credit for that. She'd done relatively well for her first night, and right now Cain was content to let her be. She stretched luxuriously in her large rack, listening as the sniffles subsided into hitched breathing which itself slowed, became regular. She listened, smiling sleepily, as the exhausted pilot calmed. Finding unexpected peace in the quiet quarters, Kara slept. 

***

Starbuck stood at attention. She’d developed a permanent ache in her right arm and shoulder, an ache that never really went away now. Every time she raised her arm to salute Cain, the ache intensified until, within seconds, her whole arm felt as though it were on fire. Every night, she was able to hold the position for a shorter and shorter time, and therefore every night she was punished more and more harshly. And now, at the end of her first week on Cain’s training programme, Starbuck was at breaking point. She stood quietly, just inside the door, her eyes fixed on the far wall of the room. 

Cain observed her whilst pretending to be absorbed by her reports. She noted with satisfaction the disintegration of her defiant demeanour. Starbuck was a beautiful sight, straining muscles holding her body taut. Cain had always thought that her blonde hair contrasted nicely with her duty blues. Cain lowered her pen and looked at the pilot. She was crying. Fat tears were rolling down her smooth cheeks, and yet her shoulders were still and she did not make a sound. Cain exulted silently. Another breakthrough! She watched her plaything for a few moments, then abruptly slammed her fist onto her desk. Her glass of wine rocked and threatened to spill. Starbuck jumped. 

“You’re a disgrace to your uniform, Captain!” Cain rapped out. Starbuck looked at her, shocked. 

“Sir?” 

“And did I give you permission to speak?” 

“Uh, sir, no you did not, sir”.

“And yet you’re still speaking!!” She was shouting at Starbuck now, raging at her with hate in her eyes. 

Starbuck stood silent. She was trembling. She just could not deal with this woman at all, never had any idea what to say. Everything she did and said was wrong. 

“You know what, Thrace, I think I’ve just about had it with you. You don’t act like a Captain and you certainly haven’t proved yourself worthy of being my CAG lately”. She rose and stalked towards the pilot. 

“At ease. You can’t even hold a frakking salute properly, so you might as well not bother”. 

Starbuck dropped her arm and allowed her body to rest, breathing a silent sigh of relief. Her mental torment went on, however, as Cain continued to speak. 

“Seven days you’ve been on my training programme now, Captain, and all I’ve heard about you is that you’re acting weirdly, that you’re not training new pilots, you’re not flying missions. All you’re doing is sitting in the hangar bay, fiddling about with your perfectly good Viper!” She was right in front of Starbuck now, spitting venom into her face. 

Starbuck burned in shame. It was true, she hadn’t been out on patrol since this nightmare began. The truth of it was that she was afraid, she didn’t trust herself any more. Her confidence was shot all to hell, and she couldn’t shake the unreasonable fear that if she took off in her Viper that disaster would strike and she wouldn’t come back. 

“Sitting about all day on that fat frakking ass of yours”. She delighted inside each time at the crushed look that came over Starbuck’s face every time she made reference to her having a fat ass. Outwardly, she kept her expression furious. 

“And look at me when I’m talking to you! You will show me respect, even if I have to beat it into you!” Starbuck dragged her gaze back to Cain’s face. She couldn’t seem to stop the tears leaking steadily from her eyes. 

"I'm sorry, sir. I do respect you, sir". 

“Yes? Well, you've got a frakking funny way of showing it. *If, I may continue? Thank you. So, as I was saying, if you can’t behave like a Captain, I think I’ll relieve you of the responsibility of being one. *Lieutenant”.

Starbuck stood staring at her, aghast. Was there to be no end to her torment? She’d thought that she could deal with the ritual humiliation and punishment she constantly received whilst off duty, if she was able to retain the sanctuary of life remaining normal during the time she was at work. Now, it seemed, the humiliation and shame was to follow her to her professional life too. There really was to be no escape. 

“Do you understand, Lieutenant?” 

Starbuck swallowed. Felt rage rising from deep within her. This was too much, this was too far. She didn’t deserve this. Cain saw the expression on her face and was secretly delighted. Not only to see that there was scope to push the pilot still further into a state of abject shame, but also pleased to have an opportunity to punish her for her defiance.

“Sir.. no I can’t say that I do understand”. She swallowed, the lump in her throat becoming the bitter gall of anger. “I don’t see that I’ve done anything to deserve demotion, sir. It’s been quiet lately and I’ve been giving the nuggets a chance to fly their own patrols, build up their partnerships with each other, you know. I think busting me down to Lieutenant would be bad for the squad right now, and…” 

Cain cut her off, her voice like a knife. “Are you questioning my judgement, Lieutenant?” 

“No, sir, it’s just that…” 

She was interrupted once more. Cain’s face was white and set with fury. “Because if you *were, I’d have to consider very seriously even worse alternatives for you than incarceration in the brig. Do you understand me?” 

Starbuck thought that she did. Thought that this woman was mad, and mean as a snake. With an effort, she forced down her own anger. 

“Yes, sir”. Keep it simple. Keep it safe. 

“Good. Now, you've already been given an explanation, even though you don't deserve one – I’ve described to you the unacceptable behaviours you’ve been displaying, and how you’re setting an appalling example to your crew”. She broke off, seemed to be waiting for a response. 

“Yes sir”. Through gritted teeth. Standing still, frozen. Hating. 

“So. Lieutenant Katraine will replace you as CAG – oh and I’d better promote her as well, I suppose. Send her to me tomorrow, would you?” 

*No… please not Kat. Anyone but Kat. To have to take orders from her, call her sir.. she wasn’t even sure if she’d be able to do it, which would surely therefore lead to further punishment. Gods, her life was rapidly going from bad to worse. This final humiliation was almost too much for her to bear. She tried, one last time, knowing it was hopeless.

"Please don't do this, sir. I can do better, really I can. Please give me another chance". 

Cain smiled at her cruelly. "Questioning me still, I see. Think you know better than me, hmmm? Think you can run Pegasus better than I can?" 

"No, sir!" That wasn't at all what she'd meant. 

"So you agree that my orders are just and my decision is final?" 

"Yes sir!" Crying inside. This was impossible. How had her life come to this.. 

"Good. So you'll advise *Captain Katraine of her promotion in the morning, won't you, *Lieutenant, and ask her to come and see me, at her earliest convenience, given her new duties, to receive official confirmation?" 

Cain's glare was like ice. There was no hope. “Yes, sir”, she replied woodenly. 

“Excellent! Now, your insignia, Lieutenant”. She held out her hand. 

Starbuck forced herself to move. She could get through this. She could. Somehow. She unfastened the badges from her jacket. The last one caught slightly and she had to jerk it free. She laid them in Cain’s outstretched palm. Her face felt hot. 

“Thank you, Lieutenant”. Cain placed the pips in her own pocket. “There is one final thing to say on this matter before it’s shelved, Thrace. You questioned my judgement before. You need to learn never, ever, to do that”. Without warning, her hand shot out and cracked across Starbuck’s face. Starbuck gasped and staggered sideways. She pressed one hand to her burning cheek and stared up at Cain with horrified eyes. “Now, do you understand that, Lieutenant?” 

The Admiral held Starbuck’s gaze calmly, showing no outward sign of the buoyant jubilation she was feeling inside. Another step pushed further along a very shameful, painful road for Kara Thrace. *Lieutenant Kara Thrace. 

Starbuck’s head was pounding. Couldn’t believe the other woman had just hit her. Remember, normal rules don’t apply anymore, Thrace, she told herself. Be careful. Straightened up slowly. Met the Admiral’s stern gaze. 

“Yes, sir” she repeated once again. 

“I’m very pleased to hear it. I think we can consider this subject closed, for now, don’t you?” She moved to her desk and dropped into her chair, easing the crinkles from her spine with a grimace. She kicked off her shoes and stretched luxuriously in the chair. “Now, Lieutenant, get your fat ass over here and rub my feet”.

As Starbuck knelt to obey, feeling the tears begin to threaten again behind her eyes, she heard Cain chuckle once above her. 

“You know, I would have busted you down to Ensign, Thrace, if I could’ve gotten away with it. But I can’t be bothered right now to deal with the crap I’d get from Adama. Lieutenant will do for now… of course, depending on your behaviour from this point forward, we can always revisit the issue at a later date. There’s always someplace further to fall”.

***

“Have you heard? Cain’s busted Starbuck back to Lieutenant!” The gossip raced through the fleet.

***

Predictably enough, the rumour mill got worse. Gossip flew about what exactly Starbuck did in Cain's quarters each night, why she no longer jumped around the hangar deck but instead held herself stiffly, moved carefully. Cain fed the rumours wherever she could, smiling enigmatically when Fisk or one if the others dared broach the subject. Kara was a sex slave, was bent over the Admiral's knee and spanked every night, was made to kneel in front of her for hours while wearing a dog collar. Had they but known it, as the rumours grew wilder, they still remained some considerable way from the truth. Starbuck's humiliation grew with each passing day. People whispered behind her back. Rooms grew instantly silent the moment she entered them. She spent her days mostly with her head down, trying to concentrate on her work, trying not to think. And yet still the rumours got through. Every evening following the end of her shift she presented herself at Cain's quarters, in an ever increasing state of dejection. If she was late, even if she'd been held up at work or by a colleague in the corridor, she was made to apologise and was punished. Cain said nothing about the rumours, nevertheless she observed Starbuck's gradual degradation with quiet satisfaction. 

*** 

Cain smiled. "Time for your weigh-in, Lieutenant Fat-Ass. Come here". 

Unwillingly, Kara approached her. This was possibly the most humiliating part of the entire proceedings. It happened every single evening, and it never got any easier. The weighing wasn't so bad. Embarrassing, of course, but she could handle that. The worst part was when Cain made her kneel at the end of each night, on her forearms and knees with her ass high in the air. She knew damned well that she was about to have her ass assessed by the bitch queen of the Pegasus, and the knowledge made her burn with shame. The cool hands roamed over her ass, pinching for muscle tone, squeezing, measuring. Cain usually had a scathing comment for her, too, to remind her of her place, although the figures didn't lie. With every day on Cain's bloody programme, she was losing weight, and becoming fitter and more toned than she had ever been before. Gods, how she hated that.


	5. Rebelling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starbuck rebels against Cain's strict programme and goes on the rampage. The Admiral is not impressed..

One day Kara woke in a rebellious mood. She was sick and tired of submitting to Cain's systematic humiliations. She wanted her old life back. Her day proceeded to get worse with each passing hour, and her mood blackened still further. She suffered a well-deserved public dressing down by Kat on the hangar deck after she'd messed up a simple exercise, one which in the old days she'd have completed in her sleep. The fact that she couldn't give Kat an explanation, any explanation at all when she was yelling at her, asking her what in hell was wrong with her, made her even more furious. She stood mutinously silent while Kat shouted at her, pointing out all the frak ups she'd made lately, while everyone else stood around pretending not to listen while they stripped off their flight gear, in reality of course drinking in every single word, relishing the humiliation of the golden Starbuck. Or so she told herself. Kara wasn't at all surprised when at the end of the session, Kat stripped her of her flight status, telling her she wasn't safe even to be near a Viper until she'd sorted out whatever shit was going on with her. 

When Kat finally dismissed her, Kara was in a state of complete high fury. Frak Kat, frak Cain, frak everyone. Her life had gone all to shit and she just didn't care anymore. No longer able even to fly, to escape to the temporary refuge of the stars.. really, there was nothing left in her existence that gave her any pleasure at all, any measure of hope. So what did anything matter. She didn't even care about the threat of the brig. She pushed open the door of the rec room. She wanted a drink. She felt like a fight. She wanted to get royally frakked up. 

***

Cain received Kat's report and smiled. No flying. She knew what that'd do to Kara's state of mind. She hadn't even had to do it herself, although it certainly had been part of her long term plan for the pilot. She had an idea of what Kara's immediate response would be, and she went immediately to find her.

"Lieutenant Thrace!!" 

Cain's voice cut like a blade through the rowdy room. Immediate silence descended, a breathless hush of fear and trepidation. Starbuck paused in the act of throwing a punch. Two marines and a pilot sat on the floor, rubbing their jaws ruefully. Kara really had been determined to take on the whole room, Cain thought, hiding her private amusement under an icy stare. 

"What in the name of the Gods, is *this?" she asked, her voice cutting like a whip. Starbuck stared at her mulishly. Opened her mouth to speak, but Cain forestalled her. 

"Don't, Lieutenant. Don't say anything that we're going to both regret". 

Starbuck closed her mouth and engaged her brain. She felt the white hot fury begin to drain away. A cold fear started to seep in to replace it. 

"Sir", she contented herself with. 

"'Sir'. Is that the best you can do? Is that the only thing you've got to say about this complete.. *shambles I see before me? Half of my staff on the deck and one of my pilots, one whom is *already on a discipline programme and who therefore should *really be thinking more clearly, is apparently about to lay out the other half!" 

Kara felt the fear deepen. Gods. She'd really frakked up this time. Cain moved closer to her. Curled her lip as she took in the details of the scene. 

"There's blood and gods knows what else on the floor of my ship, Lieutenant. You will clean it up. And, since you've proved yourself desirous of cleaning duty, you will clean the floor tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. When everybody can see you. You may come to be known as Lieutenant Scrubber".. 

There was a snicker from the corner of the room. Cain's head snapped round and the noise abruptly cut off. She turned back to Starbuck, who was staring at her, a remnant of her fury resurfacing. 

"Scrubber... It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think? I think it would make a nice replacement callsign for you.." 

*No... She wouldn't dare.. Starbuck's mind reeled with horror. Starbuck was all that she had left. 

"No, silly me. You don't need a callsign at the moment, *Thrace, as you're no longer flying". 

With that twist of the knife, Cain turned to the assembled crowd. "And as for the rest of you, you're a sorry ass bunch of officers and staff. I don't want to see any of you engaging in such activities, ever again". The room was deathly quiet. 

Cain smiled. “Now, Lieutenant Scrubber. Get scrubbing. And when you're done, get your *fat ass back to my quarters. Is that clear?" Her tone brooked no refusal. 

Burning with humiliation, Starbuck threw her a furious and overdone salute. "Sir, yes sir!" 

"Good". Without further ado, Cain turned and strode from the room. She smiled as her face turned away, broke into a broad grin as soon as she was out of sight. Stripped of her flight status... forced to clean floors... she was already looking forward to part three of Starbuck's punishment. 

****

There wasn't any standing to attention today. Maybe that was the key to avoiding that particular humiliation, Starbuck thought. Make her so mad she skips the intro and moves directly to the main course.. Without ceremony, Cain ordered her to strip and bend over a low stool in the centre of her office. Mutinously, Starbuck obeyed. She felt like breaking something. Maybe a good screaming session would make her feel better. Really let rip. Cain gave her a few good swats with the paddle, to warm her up and to get her own blood rising. When Starbuck was squirming, she ordered her to extend her hands towards a bracket on the wall. She planned to push a little further today- best that the pilot be securely restrained in order to quell the initial resistance. Starbuck bared her teeth at her as her wrists were cuffed around the bracket. Cain just laughed.

"So. Captain Katraine told me what happened today, Lieutenant. Had a bit of a slip up, didn't you?" She moved back round to stand behind the naked pilot, slapping the paddle gently against her own thigh. 

"Yes", she continued. "Quite the slip up indeed. Want to tell me about it?" 

Starbuck laughed nastily, testing the strength of the restraints. 

"Not particularly, no. So, what's all this about, Admiral? You gonna beat me until I beg, is that the plan?" 

Starbuck was spitting defiance at her, obeying orders but doing so with a contemptuous challenge in her eyes. 

"Quite possibly", Cain replied simply. "That may very well happen, yes. But that isn't why your arms are restrained, Lieutenant. Your arms are restrained because you really, *really aren't gonna like what I'm going to do to you before we get to that". 

Her matter of fact tone sent a sudden chill down Starbuck's spine. She stepped away and Kara could hear her rummaging in a drawer behind her before she moved back to stand by her head. She bent closer. Starbuck flinched, expecting a blow, but Cain merely placed an object in between her outstretched arms, right in front of her nose. She stared at it. For long moments it made no sense to her at all.

"What, the frak, is this??" she asked, trying to hold her voice steady. She knew damned well what it was. There was no way she was letting this happen to her, no way she was allowing this invasion. This was a step too far. That's it, times up, everybody out of the pool. Cain could go frak herself if she thought she was playing this game any longer. 

Cain laughed. "Oh come, Lieutenant. You're a woman of the world. Don't tell me you haven't seen one of those before? I think you know very well what it is, don't you?" She laughed again at Starbuck's silence, her renewed struggles against the restraints. 

"You are not, repeat not, putting that frakking thing anywhere near me!" Starbuck spat viciously. "Get these frakking cuffs off me, NOW!!" She kicked out. 

Cain moved to squat astride her legs, holding her down. "Yes, I am, Lieutenant. And what's more, you're going to relax and let me do it. You know why?" 

"*Not, frakking, happening!!" the pilot hissed, squirming deliciously beneath her. "I didn't agree to this! Let me the frak up!" She jerked again at the unrelenting cuffs. Cain's voice was very cold above her. 

"You agreed to the terms of my proposal, Lieutenant. It's not my fault if you were too stupid to ask for the details at the time".

"So. You *will be doing as you're told, and I'll tell you why. Not because of the brig- I think even that threat wouldn't be sufficient to ensure your compliance right now. No, you'll cooperate because of the pictures which I want to share with you". 

Starbuck stilled, panting hard. 

"What frakking pictures?" she asked, her voice low. More...* respectful. 

"Oh, just some little snaps I took of some of our... encounters. Some of your more.. shall we say, colourful moments? Would you like to see them?" 

The pilot said nothing. Cain smiled. She patted Starbuck playfully on the backside and rose, easing her lower back as she did so. She crossed to the same drawer and took out a folder. Turning back to Starbuck, she grinned to see that the pilot was staring straight ahead, her body suddenly motionless. Cain moved the butt plug casually to one side and laid out some pictures in its place. Pictures showing Starbuck in a variety of humiliating positions. Pictures of her bright red ass bent over the end of the sofa. Close ups of the beautiful stripes laid across it by the cane. Rear views of her wearing that ridiculously short overshirt, most of her ass in plain sight. There was a shot of her asleep on the treadmill. Somehow, Starbuck found this last the most embarrassing of all. Tears came unbidden to her eyes. 

Cain gave her plenty of time to absorb the impact of the pictures. She spent several moments at her desk, organising paperwork. Presently she capped her pen and rose, crossing back to the prone pilot. 

"Well, Lieutenant? How do you like your little photo shoot?" 

"You are... a frakking.. *bitch", Starbuck muttered, still staring at the dreadful evidence of her shame. Cain laughed out loud. 

"You don't like them? Pity. I think they're an excellent overall visual of the progress you're making. I like to look at them from time to time and now, so can you. I'd hate for them to become publicly available though, wouldn't you?" 

She grinned maliciously and dropped once again to pin the pilot's legs. She bent forward and gave a sharp swat to Starbuck's raised ass. Starbuck yelped and jerked forwards. Her mind was racing. She couldn't... she wouldn't... wouldn't *dare... Would she? Starbuck was horribly afraid that she would. Cain made the rules. Nobody would question her actions. Nobody could tell her to stop. The only thing that Starbuck would achieve by causing those pictures to be released would be to create a whole new level of public shame to her own personal hell. She thought of Helo seeing those pictures, the Chief. She thought of Cally and Kat- those two would probably have a hard time keeping from laughing out loud at her humiliation. She thought of Lee, his mouth dropping open. She thought of the Commander... *Gods, no. Anything but that..

Cain smiled above her, a small, private, satisfied smile. Finally she had the pilot exactly where she wanted her. She'd never had any real intention of brigging her, at least not for the threatened six month period. That was merely the primary motivation, to get Starbuck to the impossible position in which she now found herself. There was no way in hell she was going to risk the release of those pictures. Now she was hers to do with exactly as she liked, for as long as she liked. Starbuck was going to complete her training programme, whether she liked it or not.

"So, we're agreed, yes? You'll do as you're told, you'll take what I give you to take, and these pretty pictures can remain our little secret. Yes?" 

She swatted Starbuck again, on the other buttock, and again the pilot yelped and twitched. She hated, hated, not knowing when a blow was coming, not being able to prepare herself for it. 

"Well?" her voice was stern, implacable. Starbuck had the nightmare vision of herself as a tiny fly, inexorably caught in a giant spider web, caught round and round with silk bindings, unable ever, ever to break free. She was smacked once again on her backside, the sharp sound ringing in the quiet room. She let out a sob of self pity. 

"Please..." she muttered, desperate now, no longer caring about her dignity. "Please, Admiral, don't do this. I can be good...". 

Cain bent close, pressing her body close to Starbuck's naked back. 

"Please is a good word", she whispered into the pilot's ear. "An excellent word, and one which I look forward to hearing from you a great deal in the months to come. But it's not the word I want to hear from you right now, however. Understand?" 

Starbuck closed her eyes. There was no escape. 

"Yes".. she breathed. 

"Do we have an agreement?" 

"Yes"... Cain smiled in triumph as she sat up and grabbed a hank of Starbuck's buttocks with each hand. She squeezed sharply. 

"Yes, what, Lieutenant?" 

"Yes, *sir!" Lying helpless on the floor with her ass raised in the air, Starbuck burned with futile humiliation and rage. 

******

"Now, Lieutenant, I think it's time to explore that fat ass of yours a bit further, don't you?". 

She smiled down at the pilot's bowed head. Rising, she used her foot to push Starbuck's legs apart, easily overcoming the initial instinctive resistance. She left the pictures in front of her so she could view the evidence of her shame even as it was being compounded still further. She brought gloves and lubricant from the drawer and knelt between the pilot's spread legs. 

Starbuck felt the ultimate indignity as Cain pushed a gloved finger against her asshole. She'd never had anything in there before, not even a finger. She'd frakked about a hell of a lot, that was for sure, but her ass had always been off limits. She debated telling this to Cain, in the hope that it might make her go a bit easier on her, but decided the potential gain wasn't worth the humiliation of what would sound like pleading. She gasped and jerked as the finger pushed at her, demanding entry. She clenched her muscles, instinctively trying to keep out the invading digit, but couldn't keep it up for ever. Cain knew very well what she was doing and, the moment she relaxed, wriggled her finger inside up to the first knuckle. 

Starbuck grunted at the invasion. She was angry now rather than distressed, furious at what was happening to her. Cain delighted in her stubbornness. 

"How does that feel for you, Lieutenant?" she asked, holding the finger firmly in place as Starbuck squirmed, trying uselessly to expel the intruder. When she didn't answer, Cain flexed her finger and threatened more pressure. "Well?" 

Starbuck growled. "I frakking hate it. Get it the frak out!" 

"Tell me what it feels like, Lieutenant", Cain pressed her insistently. Starbuck's mind groped for an appropriately rude description. Couldn't find one. Settled on the simplest instead. 

"I feel... *full", she said, surprised by her own honesty. Cain smiled, pleased. 

"Thank you, Thrace. Now relax. You're about to feel a lot fuller". 

She began to corkscrew her finger into Starbuck's ass, riding her squirming body easily. When she was as deep as she could go she bent forward again to whisper into the skewered pilot's ear. 

"The famous Starbuck", she said, hissing the words. "Adama's golden girl, lying on your face with my finger up your ass. Former Captain, former CAG," she gave an insistent twist of her finger to both titles, "Now you're just a deck-scrubbing, brawling Lieutenant with no flight status. You are, quite appropriately for your current situation, well and truly *frakked". 

Starbuck groaned at her words. She felt so damned full back there. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was new, and unexpected, and her body kept trying to push the invading finger out. The bit she felt most frightened about was the fact that the butt plug she'd been shown earlier was far bigger than Cain's finger. She was angry, yes.. but what dismayed her more than anything else was that she was suddenly and quite inexplicably as horny as frak.

Cain gently withdrew her finger and slipped off her glove. Kara received only a minute or two of grace before something else was pushing insistently at her asshole. 

Oh..frak you, Admiral..." she gasped, bucking from this new pressure. Cain laughed softly. Kara couldn't see it, her eyes were firmly forward and for that matter tightly shut, but this device wasn't a butt plug but was in fact Cain's favourite ass dildo. Not too long, not overly fat, it nonetheless provided excellent potential for the easy reaming of her partners and her victims, and, when she thrust and ground against them, it gave her the most glorious pressure against her clit that she'd ever known. She spread Kara's buttocks and pressed herself against her, moving rhythmically. Her gentle yet insistent pressure soon forced the head into Kara's loosened asshole. It rested there, just inside, while Kara moaned. 

"Like that, Lieutenant?" Cain asked, smiling dangerously. 

"Ohh... frr..frak you..." Kara sobbed, the pressure stretching her rim almost too much to bear. Cain laughed softly, pushed forward again. The head of the dildo slipped forwards and Kara's ass sucked it up greedily, enveloping it. Cain gasped involuntarily at the sight. 

"Oh... that's beautiful.." She sighed with pleasure, glorifying in the power she had over the young pilot beneath her. Kara for that matter had gone temporarily silent as she struggled to deal with the new feelings rushing through her. Anger, yes, at what Cain was doing to her, shock at the size of the invasion in her rear end, so much bigger than a finger, but also that insistent, undeniable feeling of pleasure that she just couldn't shake. She did *not want this, she did not. Not not not. 

Cain moved her hips slightly, not pushing the dildo any deeper, rather just emphasising its presence in Kara's ass, and Kara groaned again. This time in undeniable pleasure. 

"You like that, don't you Starbuck? Yes... yes you do... My little ass slut.." Cain crooned to her, rocking gently. 

"Frak... you.,." Kara gasped out, eyes tight shut, hands clasped furiously together. 

"Oh yes... you like it. You like it deep inside your ass... you're going to like it all the way up, as far as I can ram it.. I'm going to make you mine, Starbuck..." 

She was breathing faster now, getting pleasure from her rhythmic motions against Kara's ass. Starbuck couldn't help but moan at her words.. she felt so *owned, she felt so *used.. and, godsdammit, she felt so frakking turned on. 

Cain began to push forward ever so slightly further into her, holding her hips with both hands to give herself purchase. She felt the dildo slip further and further into her. 

*Godss.. She had never in her life felt so stuffed, so packed, so... owned. She pushed back against the dildo with her whole body, now trying to push it further in rather than keep it out. Cain laughed above her. 

"Tell me you like this, Lieutenant. Tell me you want more of it". 

Kara was not thinking now, beyond speech. All she could think of was how good the pressure in her rear felt and how horny she was and how all she really needed was some pressure on her clit and maybe she'd be able to.. 

A sharp pinch on her backside broke her mounting pleasure and she yelped in shock and surprise. 

"Don't ignore me, Lieutenant. Don't make the mistake of thinking that I'm here to provide you with pleasure. It's quite the opposite, you know..." 

Cain began pushing forward inexorably, still holding Kara's hips. Kara gasped again and bucked, but the presence in her ass grew greater, grew longer. She groaned in mixed pain and pleasure. She'd never felt anything quite like this before. Cain pressed, slowly, drawing herself in until her thighs were pressed tightly against Kara's. Her cunt pressed snugly against Kara's rear. She was wholly inside the pilot now, and gods it felt so good. They were joined. She felt herself amazingly on the verge and stilled her motions for a second. She covered Starbuck with her whole body for a moment and whispered in her ear.. 

"So, Lieutenant.. how do you like my training programme so far?" 

Kara moaned and pushed back against her. "Please.. please, sir.." 

Cain laughed softly. "Please what, Lieutenant? Please take this frakking thing out of my aching ass?" 

She ground deeper. Gods, she really was close. Time to end this.. 

Starbuck cried out in undeniable pleasure, and Cain asked her again, "Please, what, Thrace? Tell me..." 

Kara groaned again. This was just.. unbelievable. She quite simply just could not resist this woman. 

"Please... touch me.." she gasped out. 

Cain smiled against her shoulder at the words she'd been waiting to hear. She reached around and seized Kara's clit roughly. 

"Please, huh? I'll give you please, little floor scrubber..." 

She massaged the engorged flesh insistently as she resumed grinding herself against Kara's filled ass. She didn't frak her, didn't pull in and out, that would do for another day. For now, she merely rocked forwards and back, forwards and back, forcing the pressure of her presence again and again into the woman beneath her. Kara was crying out in pleasure now, almost animal like in her complete loss of control. Her cries came closer and closer together as Cain's strokes shortened but increased in intensity. Cain leaned close once again to Kara's ear, breathing harshly. 

"You're mine, Thrace", she whispered roughly. You'll always be mine.." she pulled harder against her clit and Kara orgasmed all at once, crying out in inexpressible pleasure. The sound tipped Cain over the edge and she followed suit, thrusting harder and harder as she came and came again, hard against Starbuck's poor beleaguered ass. She ground out every last drop of pleasure from the moment. The motions extended Starbuck's orgasm and she pushed herself again and again against Cain's hand. She whimpered as her body finally began to slow.


	6. Accepting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out Starbuck can take more than she thought she could.

When Cain finally withdrew from her, Starbuck was utterly spent, exhausted. She lay flat on her face, her cheek pressed to the floor. She'd been thoroughly ass-frakked by the Admiral, and somehow she didn't think it was going to be a one-off experience. She felt hands on her ass once more as Cain reached over her shoulder to snag the butt plug. So Cain's withdrawal really was going to be a temporary reprieve, then. Her poor ass. Was this going to be its future, from now on? From never having had anything up there, was she now to have it filled, stretched, all the time? She spread her legs a little wider at Cain's insistence. Felt pressure once again on her asshole and groaned. Cain's quiet tones came from above her. 

"Relax, Lieutenant. You should be getting used to this by now". 

The head worked more lubricant into her, pressing insistently, demanding entry. She moaned in mixed need. She wanted Cain to stop, to let her catch her breath and process what had just happened to her, but part of her also relished what had happened and relished even more what was still happening. Cain was... taking care of her. Cain knew what she needed. Cain was filling her up, making her safe, defusing her fire. She groaned as the head's motion forced the first glimmerings of an entry. 

"Not so much of a fight from you this time, Lieutenant". Cain's voice seemed to echo her innermost thoughts. "I think you've realised that you *need this, haven't you? That you deserve it?" 

She pushed gently, and the head slipped into Kara's ass with a soft sucking sound. Kara gasped in mixed surprise and sensation. 

"You feel safe when your ass is filled, don't you, Thrace? You've got no control, it's the ultimate indignity, and yet it makes you feel safe. Because I'm the one in control. You're the one with a big fat plug being pushed up your ass and there's not one frakking thing you can do about it. So you can let yourself stop fighting for one moment of your brawling, spitting, randy little tomcat life..." 

Starbuck groaned at her words. It was true, it was all true!! She did feel safe, it did feel right to be slowly filled while the woman above her crooned soft words of ownership. She moved slightly, wanting to feel more pressure. Cain had stopped moving, holding still with the head just inside, clutched tightly by Kara's sphincter muscles. The Admiral's voice raised in pitch, cutting a higher tone, demanding her attention. 

"Remember the plug, Lieutenant? Remember its shape? Can you see it in your mind?" 

Yes. Yes she could. She pictured the large bulbous head. That was right inside her asshole right now. She gave a delicious shiver of pleasure at the thought. It had slipped in easily, she was looser now thanks to her first ass-reaming. It rested now just inside, her asshole clamped firmly around the plug just below the head where its diameter narrowed dramatically. If Cain tried to pull it out now.. As if reading her thoughts, the Admiral tugged gently on the plug. Kara's asshole refused to let go. She moaned at the sensation, moved languorously under the woman's hands. 

"It's inserted firmly, Thrace. Not going anywhere. The ass muscles contract immediate after entry, you see, as far as they are able to anyway. It means they lock tightly around the plug, below the head. Feels... intense, doesn't it?" She waggled the plug once more, eliciting another groan from the helpless pilot. 

"Of course," Cain continued, "I'm not speaking from experience. I wouldn't let anybody put anything up *my ass. That experience is reserved for disobedient little subordinates like you, who need to learn their place. Who need to first accept their ass-reaming, and then to learn to like it..."

She began to push the plug in deeper, working slowly, ensuring Kara fully experienced every sensation as she was slowly stretched and filled. The pilot gasped and squirmed. 

"Do you remember that further up there's another change in the plug, Thrace?" 

She did. Dammit, she did. The diameter slowly increased from the narrowness below the bulbous head, increasing in thickness which meant that Kara's asshole was forced to stretch wider and wider as the plug was inserted further and further into her. Abruptly, just before the stopper, it narrowed again. 

"Yes, sir.." Starbuck gasped. 

"Describe it for me". She did so, stumbling over her words, panting. 

"Hmmm. Good. And what's going to happen when the narrow section reaches your asshole, Lieutenant?" 

Of course she knew what was going to happen. The same thing that has happened after the head was thrust in. Cain just wanted to hear her say it. 

"Uhhh.. my asshole's going to contract, sir, around the narrow bit". 

"Indeed. But do you know what that means, Thrace? It means that you won't be able to push it out, as you would otherwise be able to do. It's what your muscles there are designed for. But the plug," she gave it an affectionate pat, sending shivers through Kara's body, "the plug is designed to resist the body's efforts to expel. We're almost there. Are you ready, Lieutenant?". 

"Yes sir!" Kara gasped. She felt impaled, like a bug on a collecting board. The plug ground inexorably deeper. She didn't think she could take much more. She whimpered. 

"Just so.." with a final movement, Cain pushed the plug the last inch. Starbuck felt her ass react in gratitude as suddenly it wasn't forced to gape so wide. It contracted sharply, gripping the plug around the narrow place. The contraction sent a mixed wave of pleasure and pain through Starbuck and she cried out. Cain's cool hands caressed her stuffed bottom.

"This, is is a singularly beautiful sight, Thrace. In fact, I think we need a picture to add to our collection...." 

She rose, leaving the pilot impaled on the floor. While taking a series of humiliating pictures, the Admiral continued to describe the sight before her, compounding Kara's shame. 

"Completely packed now, aren't you, Lieutenant? Can you feel it jammed right up inside you, invading your most secret, most private place.. and you can't do a thing about it, can you? Go on, try. Try and push it out". 

She stood over her, snapping pictures as Starbuck obediently strained, trying to rid herself of the huge and monstrous invading presence in her rear end. She was right. The plug simply moved with her muscles as she strained, not moving outwards so much as an inch. She was helpless to remove it. If she wasn't able to use her hands, or if Cain refused to help her, she'd have no way of getting the intruder out of her ass. No way at all. She was stuck, stuffed and stuck. Her ass throbbed gently, clenched tightly around the plug. She moaned. 

Cain delivered a series of slaps to her butt cheeks, and Starbuck yelped in surprise. The blows made her flinch and clench her muscles, both movements in different ways serving to emphasise the firm and unyielding pressure of the invader. 

"So, Thrace", the Admiral said, raising her voice to be heard over the pilot's squeals, "a few moments to get used to the presence, I feel, and then it's time for your evening run".

*Her evening run... what the frak?! Had the admiral completely lost her marbles? 

"Uh, sir? I don't think I can run with this up my ass, sir?" 

"Oh, on the contrary, my dear Thrace. You can, and you will".

Turns out that she could, and of course she did. It was an incredibly strange sensation, and she had to hold her legs wider, bowing them outwards slightly, but she was able to run for nearly as long as the previous night. Cain watched her, took in every detail of her sweating face. She smiled slightly as she took pictures, documenting Kara's stuffed ass as it pounded and laboured, documenting how her expressions flitted across her face, how they changed between discomfort and pleasure, anger and satisfaction, denial and acceptance. 

"You'll wear it at work from now on. All day, every day. You've been a pain in my ass for some time, Thrace, so it only seems appropriate that I return the favour".

***

She was right about that. The butt plug was now an intimate part of her existence and it never left her side. Or, rather more appropriately, it never left her ass. Apart from an hour in the evening when she got in, she had the damned thing wedged firmly inside of her. 23 hours a frakking day. And furthermore her hour of freedom wasn't exactly that, as Cain used this time to ream her every day with the strap on ass dildo. It slipped in so easily now. Starbuck was beyond being embarrassed by this. The rest of the hour was hers to perform necessary functions and to wash. Following this, she would leave the bathroom and present herself to the Admiral for the symbolic reinsertion of the plug.


	7. Considering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship-board discussions of Kara's situation.

"But why did you ever agree to this, Kara?" 

Lee looked bemused. She'd been avoiding him pretty successfully for weeks, but he'd lain in wait this time and caught her fairly neatly in the communal showers. She was washing her face, and didn't answer him for a long moment. When she did, it was with a huff of frustration. 

"Didn't have a lot of choice, Lee. It was this or the brig. For six months. No visitors". 

"Yeah, I get that, but still, I just can't believe that you're letting this happen to you! I mean, how d'you keep your self control, y'know? It's not like you, and what with everything this... *programme entails..." 

Starbuck cut him off abruptly. 

"What it entails? How the hell would you know what it *entails? Unless you've been listening to the gossip mongers. Have you been listening to them, Lee? I know what they've been saying, what everyone thinks is happening to me, night after frakking night.." 

She broke off then, suddenly unable to trust her voice. She reached past him and snagged her towel, burying her face in it. Blocking out the world. 

His voice was muffled in her ears when he spoke. She had to listen hard for the words to make sense. He was asking... *what?? He was asking if she wanted him to speak to his father, to see if there was anything he could do, any pressure he could bring to bear upon Cain which might help her situation. Her head snapped up and the towel dropped. Kara's flushed face appeared, angry eyes flashing with some of the old Starbuck spark. 

"Gods, Lee! No! Promise me you won't talk to him about this! Promise me!" 

"Kara.." Lee tried, but again he was interrupted. 

"No, Lee. This is my mess, and I'm handling it my way. If she found out that I'd gone squealing to the Adamas for help, she'd.. well, I'd..." 

She slammed the sink in frustration, unable to put into words what she knew to be true. If she went whinging to the old man, he likely wouldn't be able to help her, and Cain'd lose any respect for her that she had left. There was something in the way she looked at her, when she'd completed a successful session on the treadmill, for example, or negotiated her way through one of the Admiral's verbal minefields without blowing up, that suggested she was finally starting to do something right. Although Cain had never come out and actually said so, Kara could tell from her attitude that she was making progress on the programme. She thought she could see a very faint glimmer of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. And she didn't want to do anything which might endanger that. 

***

Adama had concerns of his own, had Lee and Kara but known it. He voiced them with the President.

"I just don't know, Laura.." 

He rubbed his temples. Roslin thought she'd never seen him at such a loss. 

"I can't stop Cain from doing this, at least not without causing some kind of diplomatic incident. It almost feels as if she's daring me to try, to force the issue so it'll be *my fault if Kara ends up rotting in the Pegasus brig. It's as if she's trying to prove that Kara belongs to her now, that she's taken her away from me..." 

Roslin covered his hand with her own. "Maybe that's the real problem here, Bill", she said. "Maybe it's not what this programme of Cain's is not what it's doing to Lieutenant Thrace, but what it's doing to you". He looked at her incredulously, and broke in. 

"And that's the other thing! She demoted her, for frak's sake!! Do you know what that'll have done to Kara.."

She raised her hand to forestall his indignation. "I'm serious, Bill. I'm sure that her demotion was justified. Although Cain is a strict officer, I believe she's fair. I'm convinced that whatever *Lieutenant Thrace did, she deserved the consequences. And although this programme does sound... *extreme, if the rumours are to be believed even in the slightest, you can't deny that there hasn't been a single incident of Starbuck.. *acting up, shall we say, in almost two weeks. Tell me the last time *that happened". 

Adama said nothing. It was undeniably the truth. Roslin looked at him, smiling slightly, and continued. 

"I think that Lieutenant Thrace has been crying out for discipline for some considerable time now. You're too close to give it to her, and I don't have any direct control over her military life, but Cain's in a position to give her what she needs.." 

Adama broke in, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "Yes, dammit, but how about the way she looks?! She's walking round like a beaten puppy! You can't tell me that that's right, that that's okay?!!" 

Roslin smiled. She soothed the Commander's hands. 

"What she looks like, Bill", she was choosing her words carefully, "Is like someone who's finally met someone who she can't control. She's met her match, to put it bluntly. And naturally she's fighting it, but it won't be long before we see a real difference in our wayward pilot. She'll realise it's in her best interests to stop fighting against her restrictions, which is something she's never realised before in her entire life. She'll come around, Bill, don't worry. And when she does, you'll have the old Starbuck back. That I promise you". She raised his chin with a finger, smiled into his face. "I'm right, Bill, I know I am. You'll see".


	8. Appreciating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starbuck begins to find an unexpected level of enjoyment in her situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Admiral Cain is becoming an awful lot nicer and more human than I thought she would when I began this!

Rather to her own surprise, Starbuck began to rather enjoy the book she was being forced to read. Deros actually made a lot of sense, and forced her to look at her own ideas and perceptions in a way she never had before. She began to make notes, not because Cain made her do it, but because she wanted to keep her new found ideas and opinions in some kind of order. She also wanted to please Cain, to make her proud of her. She didn't know why, and refused to question her motivations too deeply. 

Every night, when Cain grilled her on her reading, she answered more and more enthusiastically. They began to share views frankly, exchange ideas in the manner of equals rather than superior officer and subordinate, or trainer and subject. Starbuck still slept each night on the treadmill, and spent each day with the plug firmly up her ass, but she no longer fought so hard, no longer questioned her situation quite so vehemently, and as a consequence her nightly beatings became more of a ritual formality than things conducted with any real venom. She began to look forward to her reading sessions; those two hours out of every day being her time to think rather than react, a time when she was allowed time to question who she was and her place in the universe and what it all meant. 

No longer fighting Cain, she began to relax in other areas of her life too. She stopped picking fights with Kat, instead beginning to simply accept her authority. To her credit, Kat didn't ride her about her change in attitude, and actually, now Starbuck thought about it, she hadn't given her abuse about her loss of status in the first place, either. She'd conducted herself like an officer. Starbuck smiled. She rather liked Kat, these days. 

***

She stayed away from all of her old temptations, all her old friends. Now she was no longer operational, it was easy to avoid everyone. If she was honest with herself, she didn't want to see any of them right now. They'd be too much of a distraction, at a time when she was questioning more deeply and learning more about herself than she'd ever done. She was feeling fitter and stronger than ever before; Cain had allowed her to start weight training in addition to the treadmill exercise and she relished the increase in muscle tone throughout her newly slender body. As a reward for her recent good behaviour, Cain had also introduced some more interesting ingredients to her daily diet. She looked forward to mealtimes now, relished the conversation and the opportunity to discuss Deros' theories. Cain smiled at her far more often, seemed to genuinely enjoy her company. Starbuck, if asked, would quite honestly answer that despite the lack of personal freedom, cigars, ambrosia, cards and reckless wild behaviour, despite the indignities she was made to suffer that somehow no longer felt like indignities at all, despite the loss of her captaincy and her flight status, she was quite genuinely experiencing a level of satisfaction, of contentment, that she’d never known before. 

***

Kara lay between Cain's legs, eating her out slowly, leisurely, while the Admiral luxuriated in the pillows piled up behind her. The pilot was thinking as she worked, and presently she lifted her head and spoke. 

"Sir? Permission to ask a question?"

Cain raised her own head and squinted down at the blonde vision between her thighs, struggling to focus. 

"Hmmm? Now?" She laughed, half irritated, half amused at the pilot's awful timing. "Go on then. If you must".

"Thank you, sir. I was wondering about things I've heard about the Cylon in the brig, sir. People say she was.."

Cain froze. "Don't want to talk about that, Thrace. Off limits. Understand?"

Starbuck nodded obligingly, remaining quietly busy for long moments.

Cain groaned, writhing on the bed, letting pleasure overtake the unwelcome thoughts in her head. 

"That's right, Lieutenant. Use that big mouth of yours for something better than talking.." She writhed, pulling harder on the hair she held. 

Starbuck sucked at her clit with a mouth like an octopus. She worked her into a frenzy, then pulled away once more. Cain groaned in frustration. 

"People say that the two of you were lovers, sir. Is it true?"

The Admiral growled in frustration and fury. She moved her hands from the pilot's hair to her ears and twisted them. Hard. Starbuck yelped. 

"Lieutenant, I swear to the gods, if you don't shut your frakking mouth and get on with what you're doing, I'll throw you right there in the brig with her!" 

She hauled the pilot bodily deeper into her, cutting off the possibility of any further conversation. She heard a muffled giggle, felt the body between her legs convulse with suppressed laughter, but didn't care as the tongue was back working busily now and she couldn't think of anything else, anything else at all. 

***

Cain lay sated, gasping at the ceiling. Starbuck still lay prone, stroking Cain's thighs thoughtfully. Presently she looked up, sly. 

"And was it her who taught you to be so damned good with all your toys, Admiral?"

Gods, the bloody persistence of the woman!!

Shocked by the audacity of the question, and yet still pleasantly relaxed from her orgasm, Cain merely tugged lightly on Starbuck's hair in a gentle reprimand for her cheekiness. She laughed softly.

"Actually, Thrace, most of the time she was the one using those devices on me. Not that it's any business of yours, of course", she added hurriedly. 

Kara smiled, watching Cain's eyes flicker away, unable to meet her own. For the first time Kara could remember, the Admiral looked unsure of herself, nervous. Talking about yourself does that, she thought. Especially talking about relationships in general, and Cylon ex-girlfriends in particular. 

Cain seemed to come to the end of some sort of internal monologue, having apparently decided to continue. She twined her fingers through Starbuck's hair, still not meeting her eyes as she spoke. 

"She was.. hard to resist. She had a very.. *magnetic personality".

Starbuck thought about making a sarcastic remark about magnetic toasters, but decided against it. It wasn't the time, or the place. 

"You love her". She spoke flatly. It was a statement, not a question. 

"Yes, I think I did. Although I wouldn't admit it to myself at the time. I..."

"No". Starbuck interjected firmly. "Not 'did'. You love her. You still do, even now".

Cain was silent, her hands stilled on the pilot's head. Starbuck waited for the fingers in her hair to tighten, to punish her for her temerity, but Cain didn't move. For long moments she lay still, silent, her body motionless. Eventually she moved, easing her position under Kara's head. She sighed. 

"Perhaps you're right, Lieutenant".

"Of course I'm right! I'm never wrong about these things". She tried to lighten the mood slightly. She hadn't expected Cain to react quite like this. Didn't want the woman to start bawling, or anything embarrassing like that. 

Cain smile wryly. "Just so. Anyway. It's too late to worry about that now. That's all over". 

She nodded her head firmly, end of discussion. Patting the bed beside her, she eased out from under the Lieutenant, smiling as she obligingly rolled over onto her side. Cain rose, automatically bracing her lower back with her hand, a grimace of discomfort on her face. She crossed to the dresser and poured two glasses of ambrosia. 

Starbuck bit back a smile at the sight of the usually buttoned up Admiral so half dressed. Literally, half dressed, her uniform jacket still fastened securely but completely naked from the waist down. She felt a rush of affection for the other woman, who kept such tenderness and vulnerability so carefully well hidden under the overcoat of cold efficiency and expedience. She felt proud to have been permitted to see it. 

Cain turned back to the bed. She smiled to see Starbuck's flushed face, as she lounged back against Cain's pillows, stretching out in the large bed as if she owned it. She was butt naked, oozing confidence and satisfaction. She crossed to her and handed her one of the glasses, putting one knee on the bed and tickling suggestively at her raised thigh. Kara wriggled and giggled. 

"Don't! I'll spill it.."

She took a long, appreciative sip and lay back against the pillows, pulling at Cain's arm until the Admiral gave up and joined her. Starbuck laughed suddenly. 

"Wish I had a frakking stogie.." It was the one thing necessary to complete the picture.

Cain was quiet for a moment, then she let out a snort of laughter. 

"And I wish I had a deck of cards.."

"Huh?"

"Cards, Lieutenant. Remember the rules I set you, when you agreed to the terms of my programme?"

"Sure. No drinking, no smoking, no.."

She broke off suddenly, as she realised what the Admiral was getting at. "No gambling, and no frakking!" She looked from the drink in her hand down to their mostly naked bodies, then up to Cain's quietly smiling face. She laughed in delight. 

Cain grinned at her. "I'll get you a cigar tomorrow, Thrace. I think you've earned it. Cards aren't really my bag, though.." She ran her hand in affection over the giggling pilot's face, then turned decisively to the bedside lamp. 

"It's late. You've got to let me get some sleep, Lieutenant".

Starbuck sobered immediately, and moved to leave the bed, to return to her treadmill. Cain seized hold of her wrist, pulled her back. 

"No. Sleep here tonight, Thrace. If you want to". 

She pulled her back in, holding the pilot close, snuggling up against her back, putting one leg over her body. Starbuck wriggled deliciously back into her, like a sleepy puppy. 

"Condition, sir".

Cain growled. "Name it.."

"Buttons all pokey. Take.. jacket off".

***

The discussion didn't end there, however. Starbuck brought it up again the next night, and the night after that, refused to let it lie. She forced Cain to examine her motivations, her morals, her feelings. Although Cain found it intensely irritating, the sheer persistence ground her down and she found herself pondering the pilot's words in quiet moments. 

She didn't love Kara, at least not in that way. She was fascinated by her, and more than happy to give her what she so desperately needed, but she wasn't in love with her. And, thankfully, neither was Kara with her. Their arrangement would work for now, and eventually Kara would work it out with the Adama boy. Cain wasn't saddened by this, but she did sigh from time to time and think about her own life. Her own needs. She remembered the aching joy of a body answering hers. She thought of honey blonde hair trailing through her fingers. She thought of Gina. 

Her rage was gone now. After the first few furious days when she'd kept the Cylon chained in the brig, she'd relented and had her moved to a detention cell, with access to food and a toilet. A cot. She hadn't been to see her yet, but she was thinking about it now. It was probably too late, far too late.. but at least she could talk to her, discuss where to go from here. She couldn't keep her locked up forever. And never, not in a million years, could she bring herself to space her. 

So maybe.. maybe talking was a start. Cain finally allowed herself to realise what Kara had tried to show her. Love was more important than hate, and she loved Gina. Loved her beyond all measure- had never been able to stop loving her. Even if Gina couldn't ever bring herself to even talk to her, and she wouldn't blame her for it, that would be okay. She could start a new life on one of the fleet ships, or, hell, Cain was even prepared to discuss returning her to the Cylons, if that's what she wanted. There had been too much hate... It was time to put things right.


	9. Acquiescing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starbuck's learning to be a good girl..

There came the day when Kara had shown exemplary behaviour for an entire week. She helped with mission planning, she was useful on the hangar deck, she was generally a pleasure to have around. Cain always assiduously read each report she received from Captain Katraine, and by the end of that week she was quietly pleased. She sent for the Captain one evening and gave her a particular order. Kat, rather to her own surprise, was more than happy to action it. 

***

"Hey, Starbuck". 

Starbuck looked up from wiping down a recently returned Viper. She'd discovered she quite liked working on the birds, getting them ready for action, making them safe. She'd also discovered that she was good at it. Even if she never made flight status again, even if Cain busted her out of the service altogether, she thought maybe she'd have a future working among the non-cons. She thought the Chief would put in a good word for her. She smiled. For the first time in weeks, the thought of never flying again didn't bring tears to the backs of her eyes. 

"Evening, sir". She grinned up at her CAG. 

Kat blinked. This was a different Starbuck. She stood uncertainly for a moment. They were usually always at each other's throats- one if them always trying to bust the other's balls about something or other. The power had shifted dramatically recently from Starbuck to Kat as their positions were reversed, yet the wrangling had remained. Kat tried hard to use her new power appropriately and not humiliate Starbuck any further now that she'd already fallen so far- Kat knew how she'd feel if she was in the other woman's situation. She wasn't the complete bitch Starbuck painted her, and she was mature enough to show it. But now, now that Starbuck'd just thrown her the first genuine smile she thought she'd ever seen from her, Kat simply didn't know what to say. There had never been anything in their working relationship other than rivalry and bitching. 

"I... uh.. just wanted to say good job this week, Lieutenant. You saved my ass with what you said about that nebula this morning". 

*Gods, don't patronise her.. she winced internally, sure the other woman was about to go off at her. But Starbuck merely smiled, wiping her hands on an old rag. 

"Not a problem. Been there, got frakked up in it before". She stilled, smiling up at Kat. 

Gods, this was weird!! Where was the usual Starbuck bullshit? Where was the Starbuck who couldn't take a compliment, much less a dressing down, without either flaring up or giving some unbearably cocky retort? Kat decided she liked the new version. She still had balls, still had fire, but the attitude towards her peers and to her superiors was noticeably absent. She grinned. 

"Yeah, well. Mission would've been a total shitfight without your advice, Lieutenant". She paused, grin widening. "Get your ass ready for an early start tomorrow. Starbuck. We've got reports of weird Cylon activity out wide and I need someone I can trust to go check it out". She laughed openly at Starbuck's disbelieving expression. 

"That's right, Lieutenant. As of 06:00 you're back on active status, and I want you to go frak me some severe Cylon ass, understand?" 

The answering grin that spread slowly across the pilot's face was beautiful to behold. She stood and faced her superior officer, smiling widely. "Yes, sir!!" 

"Good. Now you'd better get outta here, or you're going to be late". Smiling, Kat made way for her to pass. Skipping off the Viper, Starbuck almost danced all the way to Cain's quarters.

***

The next day amply repaid all the faith that both Kat and Cain had placed in her. The old Starbuck was back. Flying lead with all her old style and panache, she slipped about the sky with sheer singing joy in her veins. Her Two could barely keep up with her as she displayed all the skills that had kept her top gun for so long. Watching, Kat smiled with a kind of sad pride. Deep down, she knew that although she was a damn good pilot, she'd never be as good as Starbuck. And that was okay. She could play this role as long as Cain needed her to, but privately she'd be more than happy to hand over to Starbuck as soon as Cain decided that the training programme was complete. 

Singlehandedly taking out four Cylon Raiders, her Two taking care of another two, Starbuck triumphantly led the return to the barn. Leapt out of her Viper with a war whoop. Laughing, the hangar crew joyfully applauded her return. Gods, it was good to have the old Starbuck back. 

Starbuck was on such a high at being allowed to fly again that it didn't even bother her unduly to have to part from the rest of the crew at the door of the rec room. She was so used to her new life that it didn't even gall her now to know that they'd spend the evening helling and carousing, while she trotted back to Cain's quarters. Also, she was looking forward to telling the Admiral about her triumph, and working off some of her nervous energy on the treadmill, and reading a few more pages of her book. She'd recently reached an extremely interesting part.


	10. Flying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starbuck thinks about other people and Cain sees the results of her efforts

"So, we need to talk about what will happen once you're CAG again. You've made splendid progress, Lieutenant". 

Starbuck stared at her. She hadn't even dared to think that she might fly again, but go back to being CAG?? 

"Sir?"

"What? Don't sound so surprised, Thrace. You've been on a training programme designed to improve your behaviour, and lo and behold, your behaviour has improved. There's no reason at all why you can't regain everything you had before". 

Joyous bells started to ring in Starbuck's brain. This was more than she'd ever hoped for. There was just one little thing niggling at her. 

"Thank you, sir. I.. well, I don't know what to say.."

"Then don't". Cain's voice was crisp. "You haven't got it back yet, so don't go getting ahead of yourself".

"No sir. Of course not, sir". Affecting an attitude of penance. Daring a cheeky suggestive look up at the Admiral, a flicker of a tongue. Cain pretended not to notice. 

"So the question is, where do you want to serve? Galactica or Pegasus? I hear your boyfriend's gone off to be all political, so the CAG position's available there, or, if you'd prefer, you can stay here and I'll transfer Captain Katraine back to Galactica. I thought I'd rather give you the choice.." 

There was a soft light in her eyes as she looked at the smart pilot, standing tall and insanely attractive in her duty blues. 

"He's not my boyfriend", Kara replied automatically, even as her brain processed Cain's words. There, that was it. That was what was bothering her. 

Cain made a noise of dismissal. "Whatever. Anyway, what do you think? I won't judge you either way, Lieutenant. When the time is right, you can go where you wish, with no repercussions or implications on your career. Consider it your one free pass.. You've certainly earned it".

Starbuck stayed silent, thinking. She tried to choose her words carefully, having no desire to hurt this woman for whom she'd astonishingly conceived a surprisingly deep affection.

"Um, sir? I can't help but think that this is a bit harsh on Captain Katraine. I mean, she was thrown in at the deep end, made CAG and Captain with no warning, had to supervise and discipline her previously-superior officer.. it can't have been easy for her, know what I mean?"

She stopped, gathering the right words for what she wanted to say. Cain watched her without blinking. 

"Go on".

"Well, she did really, really well. And I don't want to take that away from her. I mean, I know, I *hope, that she'll still be CAG somewhere, she's too good not to be, but I think she's earned the right to have a say in where that is".

Starbuck stopped again, raised her head and looked Cain square in the eyes.

"I think Captain Katraine should be the one to choose if she wants to stay here or go back to Galactica. And I'll take whichever she turns down. Sir".

Heartbeat loud in her chest, she waited to see how the Admiral would react to her words. 

Cain looked at her in silence for long moments. Kara waited. Presently the Admiral's face broke into a slow smile, which grew until it covered her entire face. 

"If I had any doubts that you were nearing the end of your programme, Thrace, that answer dispels them. Putting the welfare of others before yourself.. I'm proud of you".

She thought briefly, bitterly, that the welfare of others was what she herself had had in mind all along, ever since the destruction of the colonies. Every single action she'd taken had been for the good of her ship and her crew, and never mind the nightmares that woke her screaming in the dead of the night. Never mind the choices that she alone had made, and that she alone had to live with. Alone. She pushed the thought away, as she always did. 

***

It was the reception after the ceremony. After the usual mingling and congratulations, Cain moved so that she was standing next to Kara by the wall, out of earshot of the others. Thrace smiled at her, a small, sweet smile, full of secret meaning. 

"Hello, Admiral. Thank you for coming to my little party, sir". 

"Oh, I wouldn't have missed it for the world, Thrace. I'm very pleased to see how far you've come under my personal tutelage. Full privileges restored". She gestured to the glass of ambrosia in Kara’s left hand and the cigar tucked behind her ear, biting her lip to keep a straight face at their shared secret. 

Kara smiled, blushed faintly. Cain thought back a few short months. How different was this sweet Kara from the brash, cocky arrogant annoyance she'd once been. 

"It would seem, in fact, *Captain, that there's nothing more I can teach you".

"No sir. Although.." 

"Although what?" 

"Well.. Permission to speak freely, sir?" 

The Admiral laughed. "Go ahead". 

"Well.." she blushed and looked down, "the thing is, I'm a little worried in case I slip back into my old bad habits, sir. I really don't want to disappoint you.." 

She trailed off, floundering. Cain watched her impassively, smiling inside. She knew what was coming, of course, but she was damned well going to make the pilot say it aloud. 

"I thought that maybe, from time to time, you might be able to give me a refresher course in my manners, sir?" 

There. It was out. She didn't know where the impulse, the need had come from, but it was there, and she was glad that she'd expressed it. Cain smiled at her. 

"Of course, Captain. An excellent idea, one which, in fact, I was intending to suggest myself". She patted Kara on the shoulder. "You've done extremely well, Thrace. I'm very proud of you. Don't worry, I'll be watching you. I'll be ready to take you to task if you show any signs of slipping back into bad habits". 

Kara smiled in relief. There was one more thing, and this was even harder to say. 

"Thank you, sir. Umm.. there was just one other thing.. I don't quite know how to say it.." 

"Then just say it, Captain. I find it's usually easier just to say straight out what's on your mind". 

"Okay. Well, I thought that maybe, not all the time but every now and again, you might be able to.. when nobody else can hear, obviously.." she stopped, twisting her hands together in embarrassment. 

Cain watched her, waiting for her to spit it out. She had an idea of what was coming, and hoped like hell she was right. If she was, it'd be the proof she needed to know that she'd succeeded in her task. That she truly had tamed the famous Captain Thrace, had taken her apart and rebuilt her irrevocably in her own design, whilst still maintaining that essence of Starbuck, the essential core of the woman that made her who she truly was. 

Kara sighed, looking down at her hands. Decided just to say the words. 

"I wondered if you might be able to call me Captain Fat-Ass every now and then? And make me say it, too?".

***

The Admiral’s usually stern face broke into the most beautiful grin anyone in the room had ever seen. Nobody there was close enough to hear their conversation, but they were all secretly watching. They saw Cain move to put both hands on the Captain's shoulders, smiling full into her face. It looked like she was congratulating her for something, for a job well done. They saw her speak a few words to Starbuck. Whatever those words were, they were enough to cause a goofy, beatific grin to spread across her entire face. 

***

“What was all that about?”

Lee strolled up behind Kara who was now standing relaxed on her own, watching Cain’s upright form weave its way towards the door between knots of increasingly-riotous partygoers.

Kara spun lazily in an exaggerated Starbuck-style maneuver to face him. She grinned cockily into his face. “Never you mind”.

He didn’t need to know the very last thing Cain had said to her. That she, Starbuck, had been right all along. That she, Cain, had somewhere she needed to be, and something she needed to do. Right now. 

“But…”

“But nothing”. She cut him off and thrust her cigar between his lips, effectively shutting him up. His heart lifted to impossible heights when he saw the old mischief and sparkle back in her eyes.

She grinned at his raised eyebrows and took the opportunity to swipe the glass from his hand and down it in one go.

“Come on, Lee. Let’s find the others and go get drunk”.

 

*** The end ***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here, astonishingly, we have a happy ending! Apologies to those who would have preferred a bit more beastliness from Cain – I tried to stop her but she insisted on turning into a human being. For some reason this story ended up being as much about redemption for her as it did about a discipline regime for Starbuck. I hope it works and that the ending isn’t too lame.


End file.
